Blushing: A Dead GiveAway
by Little-sunandstars
Summary: Meet Lily Evans and James Potter. What the hell were their friends thinking? Is romance possible? Will Sirius and Celia strangle each other before Lily and James kill each other? Only time will tell. Rating changed to M b/c rewriting chaps.
1. Trains and What Not to do on Them

Hey! This is my first fan fic, so be nice please. Well, hope you enjoy my attempt at an L/J fic.

A/N #2: The early chapters are in the midst of major rewriting because they had been put on the side because of writers block for so long. It is far past time they got updated and adjusted. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. 'Sigh' Wish I did though. Oh, well, I'm over it now.

Chapter 1: Trains and What Not to do on them

It was a warm day for September as a pretty, slim girl with silky red hair flowing down her back like a miniature waterfall walked to the barrier that marked the separation of platforms nine and ten. Kings Cross Station was bustling with people as trains pulled in and out of the station at alternate intervals, and people pushed luggage trolleys in front of them. The girl's emerald eyes sparkled with happiness as she casually leaned through the barrier and fell through onto platform nine and three quarters.

She was immediately covered in several pairs of arms as her friends greeted her after their many months of separation. There were some shouts of, "Lily, oh my gosh, you'll never believe what happened….yes, I said naked….found my soul mate, Lily, he's perfect….you look wonderful, Lil…etc."

Lily Evans bore the conversations in good humor while she put her things on the train. She was all poise as grace, as usual. People began to usher the children onto the train, and the group around Lily slowly dispersed as they left to find compartments. Lily walked around until she heard her name being called from within one of them and walked in as the train began its long ride to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Lily Evans, where have you been all summer?" asked a girl with short blonde hair.

They hugged tightly and Lily replied, " I went to see my aunt in Ireland. It was the most beautiful place that I've ever seen before. You should come with me next time, Shannon."

"Sounds lovely. You will tell me all about it, I am sure," said Shannon, happily. There was a light knock at the compartment door and the two turned to see a girl with dark brown hair down to nearly her ankles standing there.

There were cries of joy as the three embraced and sat down in a flurry. Suddenly one of them, the new comer, noticed the badge that was pinned to Lily's shirtfront.

"Oh, my God, Lils, why didn't you tell us you were head girl this year? Not that we expected anything less of you, but you know."

"It's not that important, Meredith, really," said Lily.

"Oh, come on Lils, Mer is right. You've got to admit, it is impressive. So, what do you have to do, anyway?" asked Shannon.

"Well, pretty much the same stuff as the prefects, except a bit more responsibility. You know how much I hate being in charge." The girls laughed at that. "I have to meet with the head boy in a bit in the front compartment."

The girls soon lapsed into conversation about their summer holidays and all seemed right with the world.

* * *

A boy with messy black hair and hazel eyes that were kept hidden behind glasses, sat staring out the window of the train as his three best friend talked animatedly around him. Summer had been great, but it felt right to be going back to Hogwarts again. He did miss the women after all. James thought that he wouldn't make it through the summer without a few "companions." That is, until he met the new neighbors and their three sixteen-year-old daughters. What could he say? He was a teenage boy full of hormone bursting to find an outlet. He could not be held accountable for _all_ of his horn dog actions, right? The holidays had not been as bad as they could have been.

Another exceptionally attractive boy smacked him on the shoulder, shoving him to the floor, to pull him out of his reverie.

"What, Sirius?" mumbled James from his perch on the floor.

"What's the matter with you mate? You've said hardly a word since we got on the train, and I know something is up with you," he finished.

"It's nothing, really."

"Bull, James. We know something is up if you haven't been rampaging down the train to greet all of your fan club by five minutes after we board the thing," said a boy with eyes slightly sunken into his pale, tired face. The shadows under his eyes spoke of stress ad lack of sleep, but his expression looked happy now that he was with his friends after such a long haul without them. It was always so much more difficult to stay himself when he did not have friends around to keep him that way.

"Remus, do shut-up," said James, beginning to get agitated with them all.

"Oh, never mind, I know what his problem is." A sly grin crept across Sirius' face. "It's Lily, isn't it James? You're anxious to begin yet another year of white witch hunting, right? Mate, don't you think if she hasn't fallen to your flirting by now that she never will?"

James actually blushed and turned his face so his hair managed to hide it well enough, avoiding the questions. The truth was, Lily invaded his dreams on a weekly basis. He'd lusted after her from afar for years, but she'd seemed to be thawing towards him at the end of the last term; she'd been almost friendly. James had hope. Sirius and Lupin exchanged grins with one another and a small, round, mousy boy sitting by the window.

"What do you think, Peter? Is James a bit infatuated with Miss Lily Evans still?" asked Remus.

"Moony, stop using big words, Peter can't compute them quickly enough to keep up with the conversation," said Sirius.

"Shut-up, Sirius. I can keep up with whatever Remus is saying, thanks very much," said Peter Pettigrew from his corner on one of the seats. "I think he's stupid for trying for Lily still. She's not interested, and there's plenty of girls falling at your feet, James. Why don't you take a pick and leave the other girls to the rest of us, eh?"

James sat up, threw one of the shoes Sirius had disgarded on the floor at its owner. Sirius ducked and followed James out the door, grin on his face.

"James, Where are you going?" asked Sirius. "Come on, mate, you know we're only ribbing you."

"Ah, it's nothing, Padfoot. Just remembered that I have to meet the head girl in the front compartment to give the new prefects their instructions, not that I know what I'm supposed to tell them. Sorry, got to go, and I was so enjoying having my failure thrown in my face. I'm probably already late so it's best if I get a move on." Sirius relinquished James and moves back into the compartment before closing the door and continuing his conversation with the other two boys.

*****************

Lily tapped her foot impatiently as she waited, with a few of the new prefects who had managed to find the compartment, for the new head boy who, it appeared, was doing his best to irritate her before he had even made his first appearance. Lily looked up from the floor, where she had been examining the design of the carpet, when she heard several of the younger girls sigh. To her not-so-utter astonishment, James Potter was walking up the corridor towards them. She had suspected he might be up for the head boy position, but he couldn't be coming to the same compartment, surely. That would mean that he, and she, and they would be…Oh heavens. They'd be living together somewhat. Lily's train of thought trailed off as James came to a halt at the compartment door. She had to admit to herself that he really did look good, all lightly sun kissed and quidditch muscles. Lily shook her head slightly; these were not thought she should be having right before a meeting where she should be in charge. Once more the girls that Lily was senior of sighed and gave each other meaningful looks. Lily thought she might be sick…or strangle them.

Lily rolled her eyes and ushered them all inside the compartment to their left. The seats on either side of James were waged a tiny war upon as every girl tried their best to get the favored ones right next to him. Lilly groaned, and shoved the girls onto the opposite side from James, taking the seat beside him herself to but a stop to the bickering. The girls glared at Lily, settling down as she pinned them with her own venomous stare. James watched the whole fast exchange with amusement. As far as he was concerned, Lily sitting next to him was the best part of the whole meeting. He brushed fingers along the side of her thigh, making it look accidental. Lily looked at him sideways, still addressing the prefects. She smelled so good, like soap and fresh air.

All the while James kept trying to catch her eye, Lily trying her best to ignore him until she dismissed the prefects to their appointed duties. She closed the door to the compartment.

"Now, listen, Potter. If I am going to spend an entire year living with you, then there's going to have to be some rules set down right from the start. You will respect my space, and I will give you the same courtesy. Knock on any door before you enter the room. We don't want any surprises. Now—" James leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, barely a brush, but Lily jumped like she'd been shocked. If she admitted it, she had felt a jolt. "James, what the hell a that?" Lily shoved him. "And wipe that grin right off your face."

"You called me James instead of Potter. I feel that's a win for my side." James was indeed grinning from ear to ear, an amused glint in his eyes.

"You are so terribly frustrating. Why did you do that?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

"James, I swear—" He kissed her again, this time grasping her shoulders and pulling her towards him. Through her head, all Lily could think for a few moments was how good he smelled, how warm his hands were, how nice his lips moved against her. Then she broke form her revelry and shoved him away. "Damn it, Potter. Don't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so. We're friends, and that's it right now."

"Friends? I _have_ moved up. And what's that 'right now' you mentioned, Lily my dear?"

Lily almost growled in frustration. She turned and shoved her way out into the hall. He followed her out.

"Lily," James began, but was almost immediately interrupted by a shout of the same name from further down the hallway. She ignored him in favor of the new voice.

Any excuse to get away from James was a welcome one. She was more than a little flustered by this new Potter revelation. So Lily walked swiftly towards the boy who had called her name.

"Amos, you look great, " she exclaimed, exchanging a friendly hug with him.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Lily," said Amos. James walked swiftly past the two with a look of mixed disgust and jealousy on his face.

He could hear them all the way back to his compartment until he slammed the door shut and the glass shuddered in its frame. The other boys looked up as he entered. They had enough sense not to ask about his mood when they saw the look on his face, but after a while Remis made a feeble attempt.

"James," he said, " you alright mate?"

James sighed and sat up straighter before saying, " Yeah, just a little pissed right now."

"At whom, may I ask, are you pissed? What did you do without us to supervise you?"

"Don't blame me. It's not my fault. Rreally, I mean it, and don't look at me like that Remus. All I did was kiss her a little, and believe me, she needed to be kissed, and then she runs out into the hall, and that bloke, Amos Diggory runs right up to Lily when I was trying to talk to her. I swear he was undressing her with is eyes. The pervert," he added as an after thought.

At this, Sirius was overtaken by a fit of laughter, and finally managed to say, "Um, James, you undress her mentally that all the time, as I recall. You really have no room to talk, mate." The other boys burst out laughing, too and finally James joined them. He felt better now that he had been reminded of how Lily was with him, and how badly he was going to get Diggory for trying to get his grubby paws on Lily. It felt like one of those 'well if I can't have her, then no one can' situations. "And what's this about you making a move on Evans?" Sirius continued.

James looked at him. "Uh, nothing, mate. Really. Just, uh, kissed her a bit. She seemed to like it, but uh, then she, uh, well, she came back to herself and ran out the door."

"Well, you'll just have to give it another go, then. You know what they say, 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.'"

James rolled his eyes as the boys continued to hurl questions at him about the short interlude with Lily. He had new material for a month's worth of dreams now, which was probably not good, considering he would be semi-living with her. The conversation lapsed into what they _could_ do to Diggory to get a little bit of revenge so that James could feel better about the whole thing. This was normal behavior for them all, and their dislike of Amos was growing, now only seconded by their hate of Severus Snape and all Slytherins.

Meanwhile, when James had walked off, Lily had followed Amos down the hall to his compartment for a bit of a chat. It was already occupied with two boys and three girls that all looked up expectantly as she and Amos walked in and sat down. There were polite greetings exchanged before the other people lapsed back into their previous conversations. Lily began to talk with a girl from Ravenclaw, named Emily, who sat across from her, resting in the crook of her boyfriend's arm as he babbled on with one of his friends about some quidditch match between teams Lily had never heard of being brought up in the muggle world. Emily grinned as Amos made a very fake yawn and made to stretch before laying the arm across Lily's shoulders.

"Subtlety is not one of your strong suits, Amos," said one of his friends jokingly.

Lily leaned into his arm, and he visibly relaxed. Jokes were passed from one person to the other and conversation ranged from the interesting potions professor to the song that the sorting hat would sing that year. All the while Amos' hand had glided lower until it rested around her waist. The friends babbled and laughed, catching up on their friends' lives, give Lily and Amos some semblance of privacy. He looked over at her and shifted his position on the seat.

"Um, Lily, how are you doing? I mean, I hope you had a nice summer holiday and all. I was, um, wondering if you would you like to… well… would you like to… um… go out with me?" he stuttered out.

She grinned at him and said, " That sounds like fun, Amos. I haven't been on a date all summer."

He leaned over and laid a gently kiss upon her pink lips. She was certainly having one heck of a train ride to Hogwarts. It was soft, not demanding anything of her. It was an easy, light kiss that she could choose to ignore or respond to. His arm tightened its grip upon her waist as Lily chose to respond to his invitation, but they worn thrown quite forcefully to the floor as the train suddenly lurched forward. They landed in a heap on the carpet and began picking themselves up and brushing off. Lily was blushing slightly. The compartment was laughing at them.

"Caught a bit off guard there, love birds?" asked Emily.

"Um, are you okay, Amos? The ground is not the most comfortable place to be" she said, as she stood and went to the door.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'll talk to you later, Lily. Enjoy the feast." She slipped out the door and continued her way back to her friends, who by now, were probably beginning to wonder what had happened to her.

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful, except for Lily knocking a pair of third year boys senseless for hurling themselves through the girls' compartment door and forcing it to come crashing to the ground. They stumbled away, after Lily had given them a thorough telling off, looking rather scared. Inside the compartment, the other girls were laughing uncontrollably.

"Lily, I think you scared that one off of women. Did you see the look on his face? I thought that he was going to cry. You're far too good at this whole head girl thing, did you know that?" laughed Mer.

"Well, it's a good thing too, or else the school would be under siege by misbehaving boys," said Lily.

The three girls lapsed back into happy giggles until one of them looked at her watch and said simply that they had better get ready because they only had an hour left on the train, and Lily had to go usher the new students to get dressed and remind the older students that they had limited time as of that moment to collect their belongings.

Dressed and ready, Lily stepped out into the hallway and tapped on the doors of the other compartment, sticking her head in to make the announcement that Hogwarts was fast approaching. Ten compartments from the back of the train and Lily had stopped tapping on the doors, figuring that by now most people would be dressed and decent. The next door she opened without preamble and stepped into the room to be greeted almost immediately with yells of surprise form the boys who were in their underwear inside it. She rushed back out and slammed the door behind her.

The four boys inside the compartment stared at each other before Remus said, "Um, was that Lily?"

"You know, I think it was," replied a rather stunned looking Sirius. "Looks like she wanted to see more of James than we knew. She must have liked that she saw earlier, eh James? Then again, it's probably me she's after. Yes, must be it. She's finally giving in to her animal desire to have her way with me." Sirius made a few lude gestures.

"Shut-up, Sirius," said James, tossing something at Sirius while he quickly threw on the rest of his clothes and opened the door to find Lily who, upon realizing who it was she had walked in on, began to blush furiously.

"Um, we'll be at the school in a little less than an hour, so you should collect your things, and you, James Potter," she said regaining her composer, "should be out here helping me get these people ready to depart from the train. You can do the last of them because I still have to go finish putting my clothes away." Even embarrassed she could still take charge and give him orders. Oh yes, he was head over heels for this girl. With that she turned and rushed back down the hall to Mer and Shannon.

James watched her go with a wistful expression on his face before turning around and continuing Lily's efforts to get the students ready to get off at the station.

A/N:

Please review. It is very important to get feedback. Thank you!

Hi, people! Hope you liked it. Ideas and nice criticism is welcome and anything else that you want to tell me is great. Bye!


	2. Back to Hogwarts and What's Wrong with E...

A/N: Oh, sorry people. Thank you, Athena Diagon Cat both for your review and for bringing to my attention the fact that James does indeed have different color eyes. Yes, I must agree with another reviewer that from my point of view they are hazel, but whatever? Give me a break, I like blue eyes. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. Oh well, I'll have to fix that. Thanks.

To Lapis Rain, thanks for your fabulous correction.

Lisa- I'm happy to use correct spelling and grammar. It's one of my pet peeves as well and if there are any mistakes, please feel free to let me know.

Oh, and a round of applause for the other wonderful people who are reading my meager writing. Trust me, I'm still warming up to my characters so bear with me on this one. It is, after all, my first fanfic and I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. Thanks again and here's a new chapter.

**Chapter 2: Back to Hogwarts and What's Wrong with Everyone?**

The great Hall was decorated with festive welcome banners and, for once, the ceiling was a deep, clear sapphire blue. Amos gave Lily a quick wink as he passed her to get to the house tables. Shannon noticed and filed her questions away for a rainy day, knowing that Lily had not told them something that Shannon at least felt was important. James waded through the crowd with Sirius, Remus, and Peter following closely on his heels. He'd been following her orders since the run-in on the train. She was just so damned attractive when she was irritated and in charge. The poor first years hadn't know what hit them when Lily shoved them all towards the grounds keeper to be led to the castle.

James spotted Lily's laughing face at the Griffindor table and a pang ran through his chest. Before he could get to her, a girl with dark brown hair had blocked his path and dragged him down to the space on the bench beside her.

"Hi, James. So, did you miss me?" she asked.

"Coral, how nice to see you," said James, voiced faintly lined with sarcasm.

"You don't sound like it's nice. What's the matter with you? You're not still hung up on that Evans girl, are you? I told you last term that I'm really the better choice. I actually like you." The girl knew just what buttons to push to get a rile out of him.

"Now, listen here, you---"

Sirius, leaned over and said, "Sorry, Coral, but I have to take James away now."

"But he was---"

"Sorry," James said as Sirius pulled him over to where the other two boys were sitting with some of their other friends, leaving Coral where she sat to sulk over the loss of what she called, "a gorgeous hunk of man."

The first year students walked in to the room looking scared. Lily smiled as a little girl that looked like she was about to faint, stepped up to the stool and sat down as the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. It yelled to the assembled masses, "Griffindor" and the table yelled and clapped with glee as the girl got up, ran over to the end of the table, and sat down with people slapping her back and congratulating her. This process was repeated over and over until the long line of first years was gone and the children were spread all over the hall.

The headmaster stood up and did his customary beginning of year speech, short and sweet as usual, and sat down as the golden plates on the long house tables magically filled with food.

*********

Lily, James, and Professor McGonagall stood in front of a large painting of a family from the Middle Ages. The painted son and daughter giggled at the two students staring in at them and the mother gave her children a sharp look. The father smiled jovially and said in a quiet, deep voice, "Password please. I take it that these are the head boy and girl, then." He pointed at Lily and James.

The professor shook her head yes and uttered a simple word, "Phoenix." The family nodded as one and the portrait swung forward to reveal the head common room.

"Now," the professor began as she turned to look at her two students, "this is your personal common room. Through each door marked with the different house crests on them you will find the common rooms of all the houses. Your rooms will be through those doors marked with your names on them. They are part of the seventh year student dormitories, but are only accessible by you or those you invite. They may be reached at the top of the house towers. Lily's is in the girls' stair, James' is in the boys.' You may also access them through the gold doors on the wall if you wish. You will share the head bathroom and may decorate it to your choice. Your duties and other things will be explained when I have more to time to talk with you in depth. For now, figure out what you don't know. I think you're both intelligent enough to know what you can and cannot do." With that, she swept from the room, and Lily and James were left staring in around them.

It was James that suddenly found he was standing alone; Lily had run to her room and let out a shriek. He ran over to see the reason and found her lying on her back on a large queen sized bed covered with a scarlet coverlet made of a soft, satiny fabric. The rooms were no larger than a normal dormitory, but with only one person in it, there was lots of space. She sighed, and said a simple phrase to James that made his day look so much brighter.

"You've got to feel this bed; it's amazing. Head girl is the best gig ever."

James' face lit up and he rushed to sit next to her. When she didn't protest he leaned over on his elbow. She smiled up at him and said, "You know what, James? Maybe it won't be so awful sharing a dorm with you all year. And you know what else?"

"What?" said James.

"When I said 'you have to feel this bed,' I meant _you_ go feel _your_ bed. I'm assuming that they're the same. If you don't get out off my bed and out of my room right now, I'm going to hex you into next week, okay?"

James sat there dumbly until Lily reached for her wand. He said, defensively, " All right, all right, I'm going, I'm going. Cool down Lily. Geez."

With that he headed to his own room, sparing a glance back at Lily, who had gotten up to have a look at the bathroom. _This year is going to be hell, _he though to himself, _if she's going to act like that. She has to like me at some point._ "Damn," he said out loud in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair.

From behind the door that led to the head bathroom came a noise like many clanging pots falling to a linoleum floor. James leapt up and walked right in the bathroom as the walls blurred and changed into a deep burgundy color with gold and white alternating tiles. Lily was standing by her door staring with her mouth open, a grin on her face.

"Yes, I think that will do. So, like it James? I was trying to make it both masculine and feminine at the same time. How'd I do?" she said with her eyes a glow.

"Um, it's fine. Good night then, Lily," he said, trying to hide the expression on his face.

She saw it, unfortunately, and threw a towel at him, them smiled, satisfied, and closed the door to her room behind her.

************

Lily was lying on the couch, she had decided that she was too excited to be back at school to sleep, in the head common room when she heard a tapping noise at the door leading to the Hufflpuff common room. She got up and went to the door; she was skeptical anything good could come through those four house doors on the first night back at school. The tapping continued so she opened the door a crack and peered out from behind it. Amos was standing there grinning at her. Lily laughed softly and shook her head as she let him in.

"So, Lily how's your room?" said Amos as he collapsed on the couch that Lily

had vacated moments before. He took her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm about her. Amos nuzzled her neck and made a slight movement with his mouth and Lily made a soft noise. He turned to her and grinned.

"It's really nice. Amos, why are you looking at me like that?

He tackled her and began to tickle her mercilessly as Lily tried to fend off the attack. They fell to the floor in a smiling heap with Amos on top of her. Someone cleared their throat somewhere above their heads. She rolled her eyes up and found James standing there, eyebrows raised. Lily blushed furiously as she pushed Amos off and stood up.

"Hmm, funny, I thought you were going to bed," said James.

"Correction, James. You said you were going to bed. I said nothing of the sort," said Lily, drawing out the words for James. She turned to Amos and spoke to him then. "Amos, I'm sorry, but I think that I'll just have to see you in lessons tomorrow, all right? Goodnight."

"Hey, that's okay, Lily," said Amos, who leaned over and gave her a soft kiss of parting on her lips. It could almost have bee categorized as a kiss of a close friend, but he missed the mark a bit. Then he turned and left through the door that he had come in from, tossing James a look as he went.

When the door shut Lily turned to James, clearly irritated. "James Potter, what is wrong with you? Why'd you have to walk in on us? Don't you have anything better to do in your _own_ room?"

"Fine, Lily, but why don't you just keep you "friend" out of my way, okay? It's a common room, which means for everyone, not just you and your new, uh, special friend." said James, voice dripping with sarcasm and irriation.

"Fine, goodnight, Potter," said Lily, as she stomped off to her room.

James sighed and headed to his room for some sleep. He needed to calm down and would deal with this the next day. Seeing Amos kiss Lily had been enough to make his blood boil.

A/N: Hope you liked it. Send me reviews and I might have to change the rating for a chapter or two. Hope that doesn't bug you people. Anyway, I'm sending this to my friend, Kitty, who keeps sending me emails saying that she will take my computer away if I don't send her the next chapter because she just loves to edit things. Not that's she that good at editing properly, but still, at least I can spell correctly. Later chapters people.


	3. Why One Should Never turn Their Back to ...

Yet another author's note: Thanks for the feedback people. If I had more I would update and we could get on with our upcoming mushy scenes. ;) Well, I don't want to talk any more so here is chapter 3. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 3: Why One Should Never Turn their Back to a Marauder  
  
Lily breathed in the clarifying steam of the shower and held her towel tight as she wandered over to her clothes that were lying on a nearby bench. She had made sure that James was still asleep when she had entered the bathroom so as not to have any unwanted surprises.  
  
A sound reached Lily's ears as she was putting on her bra and panties. She went to investigate after rewrapping herself in the towel for cover, and went to the Griffindor door of the common room. The knocking persisted until she opened the door and was almost immediately knocked backward as three boys pushed their way into the room.  
  
There was a momentary silence as Lily recovered herself and the boys realized she had barely anything on. Sirius grinned and strode forward with a glint in his eyes as Lily backed up, trying to reach the bathroom door. There was the sound of the shower running from behind it and Lily mentally cursed herself for leaving the bathroom at all before she was completely dressed to answer the door.  
  
"Sirius, Don't be stupid," she said, her voice lined with a warning. "I'll hex you into the next century if you try anything."  
  
At this he laughed happily before saying, "And where might you be hiding a wand me dear Lily? I am really interested as to where you could put it with so little cover on."  
  
Damn, she though to herself, if only I was smarter about this kind of thing.  
  
The door she was leaning against opened and Lily was sent, non-too gracefully, to the floor. James looked, for a moment, puzzled as he looked down at her. She didn't give him a chance to say anything as she crawled slid around his feet and slammed the door shut.  
  
"Um," James began, "Did I miss something here?"  
  
Remus smiled before saying, "Yes, James, you always do. We go around and sneak up on girls when they're half dressed on a regular basis without you." Sarcasm was popular today.  
  
"Okay, right. Well, anyway, I'll go get my bag and we can go down to breakfast."  
  
As James was turning to go into his room, the door to Griffindor Tower once again burst open to reveal three out of breathe girls standing in the doorway.  
  
'How'd you get in here?" asked James, rather astonished.  
  
"Lily gave us the passwords last night through the mirror after you walked in on her," said Shannon. "She just told us to come in and save her from you pigs. Honestly, can't you even let her get completely dressed before being a total jerks?"  
  
"Shannon, sweetie, She let us in, you see, we did not force our way."  
  
"You're wasting your time trying to justify yourselves to them, Sirius," said the girl standing behind Mer and Shannon.  
  
"Celia, how nice to see you again," muttered Sirius.  
  
Celia was a true aspect of the word "beauty." She had perfect skin that had never seen a pimple before. Her smile was like pearls shining behind perfectly shaped lips. Her eyes glowed a warm honey gold this morning. Depending on what time of day it was or what kind of mood she was in, her eye color changes as regularly as the days did. Her long dark hair was pulled up into an intricate knot at the top of her head, with two tendrils, one of either side of her face, to soften the look. Celia was one of those people who can just walk into a room and have everyone's attention.  
  
"Where's Lily's room, James?" said Meredith, trying very hard to suppress the giggles fighting to get out as Celia and Sirius glared at each other. This was what they did every year, but it was still funny to see Celia, who was at least five inches shorter than Sirius, looking angrily up at him.  
  
James pointed to Lily's door as the room finally erupted in laughter from them all. The boys left, dragging Sirius with them and the girls went to get Lily from her room for breakfast. They found her staring at her reflection in the mirror. She started when Mer put a hand on her shoulder and handed her bag as Shannon led the way down to the Great Hall.  
  
************  
  
Lily had seen a busy day to its end and she was relaxing out on the grounds with so many of the other students. Since it was still technically summer, the sun was still up and after dinner many of the students had taken their work outside to do. Lily had finished hers, so she decided to sit back and watch the others struggle through theirs. The three other girls kept sending Lily dirty looks that weren't serious, but it was tradition to pretend to be jealous of the person that finished before you did.  
  
Some of the Hufflepuffs had come to work with them and had brought with them Amos who was, at the moment, moaning over how mush he had left to write one his charms essay. Lily smacked him playfully on the head before helping several of them with their potions homework. Amos grinned at her before tackling her to the grass where he preceded to tickler her mercilessly, egged on and given suggestions by the rest of the group.  
  
Celia, Mer, Shannon, and several of the others sitting there were making some rather odd suggestions. At one of his friend's suggestion however, Amos seemed to think about it before Lily shoved him off and said that she had to go in for her duties. Amos whined pitifully until she gave him a quick peck on the lips. She could hear him grumbling about "a tiny little kiss" all the way up to her dorm.  
  
Upon her arrival in the castle, Lily had felt that someone was following her all the way up to the second floor so, as she reached the transfiguration classroom, Lily ducked inside to see if they would to. Sure enough someone did and as they closed the door behind them, Lily tugged them down to the floor in one movement. The problem was that to do this, she had to go with them and she ended up in a very undignified position on under the person. She had never ended up on the bottom before. It was James' smiling face that looked down into hers. Lily groaned and tried to wriggle out but James sat on her hips to keep her lower body pinned.  
  
"James, get off me please," she said.  
  
"Aw, Lily, why? You wouldn't have lured me in here just to tell me to get off. You obviously knew it was me and wanted to be alone before you jumped my bones," he said triumphantly.  
  
"James, you really are delusional, you know that? And what exactly do you mean by "jump my bones?" she asked, feeling rather uncomfortable.  
  
"Oh, you know, super snogging, to get in a moment, to do it, to screw someone, to shag, to get jiggy with it, to get down and dirty, to fuck all night until the break of dawn, to have sex.  
  
"James Potter, you are a perverted freak! Now get off me," Lily screeched at him.  
  
"Aw, sorry Lily, don't think I can do that just yet. I may never get this opportunity again." With that he put his hands on her upper arms to keep them pinned and leaned down to her lips where he put a soft, very light kiss.  
  
Lily was surprised, but still she kept moving to get out. Finally she managed to roll to the left and get on top of James where she stood up and glared at him.  
  
"Bye, bye James," she said as she turned to leave. As she put her hand to the knob James smushed her between himself and the door.  
  
"Lily, hasn't anyone ever told you not to turn your back on a sex god? Or for that matter, a marauder?" said James in her ear.  
  
Lily pushed her elbow into his solar plexus and turned around as he gasped for breath. "No actually, James, they haven't. but I assure you that if I meet a sex god, I won't turn away from him. Now please let me go."  
  
"No, Lily. A marauder can do anything the little boy toy Diggory can do ten times better, you know."  
  
"James, I really don't care," said Lily as she got enough room to maneuver her way out the door.  
  
"Lily, if a girl waits long enough, then we poor boys tend to take what we want,'  
  
"Oh, how wonderfully cavemanish."  
  
With that last remark she stalked down the hall, swaying her hips just to show him what he couldn't have. James growled and went off to find Sirius so that they could let off some steam on some unsuspecting person. He would deal with Lily later, but right now all he wanted to do was hang out and vent with his best friends.  
  
A/N; Hope you liked it. Please forgive nay mistakes with spelling or grammar, but I'm sick with the flu and am quite delirious at some points in this chapter. I need majority vote for the next chapter. The question is: should there be a major smooch fest somewhere in the next chapter? Majority vote wins so choose wisely. 


	4. Advise and Deals

A/N:  
  
J.E.A.R.potter- Glad you like it and I will update more now that I'm on a break for the holidays. RhiaCat- Yes, James does come across as a little perverted doesn't he? I didn't notice this until after I posted it and I don't feel like rewriting it again so we'll just let it be and move on. But, he is a boy, after all, and boys will be boys. My muse must be going somewhere with this though so anyone who doesn't think this scene fits just wait and see where it goes.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize as J.K Rowling's. She is the multi-million dollar writer behind this brilliant series.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
James sat in the corner of the Griffindor common room trying not to do anything else that he would regret later on. He hadn't seen Lily since their last meeting and he had the distinct feeling that she was avoiding him, but why he did not know. She left their rooms before he woke up and they had almost every class together. That was one reason he couldn't figure out how she was avoiding him. He was sorry that he had snuck up on Lily, but seeing Diggory put his hands on her made his stomach turn. Another thing that bothered him was how oblivious Diggory was to the Hufflepuff girl that followed him around like a lovesick puppy.  
  
Sirius had suggested several possible solutions to James' problem. Among them, sending Diggory to an alternate universe, love potions, spells, time travel so that James could ask her out before Diggory, and so on. Sirius, however, did not suggest any realistic solutions whatsoever. James glared into the fireplace, wishing that he could understand how Lily's mind worked. A soft hand was placed on his shoulder as a girl sat down next to him. Shannon smiled piteously at him.  
  
"You really freaked Lily out, James. You know that right?" she asked him.  
  
"Yes," he replied glumly as he put his face in his hands.  
  
"She finally told me what happened. James, you're one of the nicer ones, what happened?"  
  
"Frustrated. I know that's not an excuse, but you've got to understand how I feel about her."  
  
"I do understand. More than you know actually," she said, looking down at the rug under their feet.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Remus. He doesn't know it, but I've admired him for a while. Mostly as a friend and an academic adversary until recently. I think I may like him as more than a friend now. He probably doesn't feel the same so I don't want to tell him. You are feeling the same way, correct?"  
  
"Right, but how'd you know 'exactly' how I feel?"  
  
"I'm a girl, I know emotions. Chances are that Lily is feeling the same about you somewhere inside of her, but she won't admit it to herself because she feels that you will ruin her image and make it look like she cares about a boy thinks of her."  
  
James blinked. "I still don't get it."  
  
"That's okay. You're not supposed to get it because you, unlike Lily and me, are not a girl. Women understand how other women think, but men need lessons on how our minds work. That would be you, James. Now, I'm willing to help you with your situation if you agree to help me to. I'll convince Lily to go on a date with you if you will help me with Remus. I like you James, and I know that you and Lily must be meant for each other," she finished.  
  
"Deal."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Shannon, I don't think Remus will take much convincing at all."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He may have a slight crush on you that has been there since last year."  
  
"I knew I like this deal for some reason and now I know. James, first lesson to remember is that Lily is impressed by knowledge and not pranks. She does think some of your little jokes are funny, but she wants intellect in a boy. James, you're fighting for top of the class, show her why."  
  
"How do you know I'm trying for to keep top of the class?" asked James, perplexed that she knew.  
  
"I've sat next to you before James. Your papers come back with exceptional marks. Then again, I'm not the on you're trying to attract though, am I?"  
  
"No," he replied solemnly.  
  
"Go get her, James. She's working herself to death on a transfiguration essay and she's having trouble with the spell. Why don't you go help her?"  
  
"Shannon, I just want you to know that you're brilliant," said James through his signature grin.  
  
"I know," said Shannon with a smile firmly in place. Shannon muttered after him, "Have fun."  
  
A/N: Sorry it took so long, but I truly do not know what to write. My Internet hasn't been work well enough for me to update until lat Saturday or Sunday. I forget which. Anyhow, it's 1:00 AM and I want to sleep from my caffeine-induced state. I may be permanently wired from all those fizzy drinks. Oh well, at least I can enjoy myself before I end up in a sugar induced coma. Later, people, ~Kiss~ 


	5. The Project

**Pittsy**- Glad you are enjoying the story. Thank you ever so much for reviewing. It helps me to update faster.

**BlackFox84**- Thank you so much for the input in your review. I was thinking along the lines of some of your ideas so I'm glad the story has the potential to go in those general directions.

**phoenix ruisse-** To answer your question, a beta is a person who helps the author. Their full title is beta reader. They check for spelling, grammatical errors, typos, sentence structure and flow, etc. Thanks for pointing out that James does not in fact wear glasses. I had not noticed that I had typed that. I'm writing another story with Harry in it and so my fingers probably got confused as to which one they were writing. I will fix that when I have time.

Chapter 5: The Project

Professor Markson was glaring at the chalkboard trying to remember what he was supposed to be teaching the classroom of students behind him. Potions class was fun most of the time simply because the professor had an absolutely atrocious memory for anything. James was thinking about the night before.

Lily had been glad for his help, if not a little wary of any ulterior motives. James had been a good boy and kept his hands to himself while explaining the spell to her. Lily had smiled after fifteen minutes, said she understood now, and gone to bed with a wave and a "goodnight" to James. He had soon followed her example and gone to bed feeling better than he had in days.

"I remember," Professor Markson cried triumphantly. "I'm going to pair you all off into partners so that you do a project. Now let's see. How about, Shannon Matthews and James Potter, Sirius Black and Celia Kingston, Reamus Lupin and Lily Evans, Amos Diggory and Maria Coltran, Andrew Davis and………" he continued matching students as he went down the class roster. There were groans, yells of joy, and some other noises that expressed the students' opinions of their partners.

Celia was having a glaring contest with Sirius, James was looking wistfully at Lilly, and Shannon was looking at James thinking that she wished he wasn't there. Lily was talking quite comfortably with Remus; Amos was looking at Maria in disdain. The rest of the class seemed to be doing much of the same.

"Okay, now everyone go sit with your partner and copy the assignment from the board," said the professor, oblivious of his student's reactions.

The students groaned as one and then began moving. A few moments later, however, there was a commotion in the middle of the classroom as Celia shoved Sirius out of his seat and into the isle that ran between the long tables the students all sat at.

She yelled something and Sirius was pushed into the ceiling where he stayed for several minutes until the professor demanded that she let him down. Grudgingly, Celia did, but not gently. Sirius fell, luckily landing on his butt, a few feet to the stone ground.

"Miss DeBelaton, what was that all about?" said Professor Markson.

"He said something, professor, and I couldn't let him get away with it,"

"Oh, okay then, carry on."

The class blinked as Celia stuck her tongue out at Sirius and they both sat down, deciding that they had caused enough trouble for the class period. Shannon was grinning her head off at James who was staring at his foot in horror.

"How'd you do that?" he asked.

"I told you I could turn your foot into a bucket. I told you, but no, Shannon is never right, is she? Well what do you have to say for yourself, James Potter?" said Shannon, looking smug.

"Sorry, I'll believe you from now on. Now turn it back please."

"Okay, apology accepted." With a quick flick of her wand, James' foot turned back into a foot.

Maria was batting her overly large eyes at Amos and for some reason it didn't bother Lily in the least. That fact alone was making her just a bit confused. She was somewhat transfixed with what James and Shannon were doing, but Reamus pulled her back to reality with a gentle tap on the arm

***********

Celia was glaring at the fire as she mulled over the many horrible things that she'd like to say, and do, to that arrogant, moronic, unfeeling, handsome, gentle bastard. Her eyebrows knit together at the last two adjectives that left her mind. That was a little strange. There was a tap on her shoulder as someone sat down next to her on the large, squishy couch. It was Sirius. Naturally. He beckoned her over to a pile of books at one of the tables and she got up to go have a look.

An hour later she and Sirius were sitting together at one of the round wooden tables in the Gryffindor common room. She was going to kill him if he didn't write something down. He had not turned a page for five, almost six, minutes and it was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Sirius, are you even reading that book?" she asked.

"Yes, Celia, I am," he said through his teeth.

"Do you ever write notes on what you read or do you just have a photographic memory?"

"I don't write notes, Celia. I remember what is important. If I don't remember it, then it's not important."

"That's stupid."

"Look, let me do this my way and we'll compare what we come up with later, okay?"

"Fine."

"Fabulous," said Sirius as he returned to the same page he had been staring at previously.

Lily was hiding a smile behind her hand as she listened to the pair arguing. Remus was a good partner. He hadn't said one stupid remark yet and she really didn't expect him to any time soon. So far, they had finished their research for whatever potion that they had chosen to do a presentation on. Lily had looked through so many books and so many potions so far that they all seemed to become one huge mass inside her head. It was all too much to take in at once.

"Well, Lily, I think I've had about all I can take for right now. I'm going to turn in. You should think about doing the same. You look dead on your feet. Good night." Remus stretched as he stood up, gathered his things, and went up to his room.

Remus' suggestion actually sounded like a very good idea. Lily smiled and shook her head as she mounted the stairs with her books. Celia was looking daggers at Sirius who had purposefully turned the book in front of him upside down to, as he said, "give me a new prospective on my reading." If Celia was going to murder him, lily did not want to be there. Happily, she went up to a well-deserved night's sleep.


	6. The Sirius Effect

A/N: Hope you enjoy it. I know, I need to update more. I will try to, but only for my readers and how will I know if I have readers if no one ever reviews? So, please review for me. I would appreciate it much.

BlackFox- Yes, finally an update. Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the ideas. Cute. I may use them.

Chapter 6: The Sirius Effect 

"I am so done with this," yelled Shannon in delight as she closed her book, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Bully for you, Shan. I still have hours of work to look forward to. Stupid astrology," groaned Lily as she looked up from her ink blotched paper.

The girls were spread out in Lily's common room for the time being. The Griffindor room was far too loud with Potter and Black blowing off steam, which is what they did pretty much all day anyway.

"Hey," exclaimed Meredith from her seat on the floor amid a circle of textbooks. "Where's Celia tonight? She was going to help me with that stupid transfiguration homework. I swear, I'll never get it done."

"Good question," replied Lily as she stuffed her nearly finished work in her bag and stood up. "Who thinks we should go find out? Show of hands? All in favor say, 'Aye.'"

"Aye," laughed the other girls as they followed Lilly out the door and into the dim hallway beyond.

Lilly was walking backwards, talking to the other two girls, under the delusion that they would warn her before she ran into anything. They did not deem it necessary however, as Lily tripped onto the floor after running directly into James Potter. Lily was perched on top of his body, arms flailing. She scrambled off of him and scooted backwards until she was sitting on Shannon's feet.

"Geez, Lilly, watch where you're going next time. I don't need a broken leg because you thought it necessary to walk backwards into me."

Huffily, Lilly stood, brushed herself off and glared at him as she took a step forward. She went back down to the floor in a heap as she tripped on her now untied shoelace. Cursing the piece of string, she stood up again and angrily tied the vindictive lace that was obviously trying to make her look like an idiot in from of those boys.

"Remus, where is Sirius? You three just aren't complete with the other pain in the butt," asked Shannon with a coy smile.

"Actually, we're looking for him. For once, Sirius does not have detention, but he is missing in action."

"Do you think they met in the hallways and hexed each other into oblivion?" Peter asked, a curious glow in his eyes.

"I seriously doubt it," snapped Lilly.

A loud crash came from the library, just down the hall. The group turned, wide eyed, to see Sirius rushing out of the library with a bright red, angry faced Celia in tow. They could hear the new librarian screeching about killer books as the doors slammed shut, but not before a rather large tome of magical etiquette whacked against the wall opposite the doors and banged to the floor. Sirius was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face steadily. Celia looked murderous. Before any of their shocked audience could react, Celia turned to Sirius, smiled, then tackled him to the floor, wand in hand.

"Ah, I don't think so," Shannon said to no one in particular. She sent a stunning spell up the hallway as Remus looked on appreciatively.

"Shannon, undo that right now," Lilly murmured.

"No, she was going to do something stupid."

Celia was glaring up at them from the floor, none too happy to be there. After a few minutes of waiting, in which is was decided the two needed to calm down before being released into motion again, the spell wore off. Sirius grinned like a wolf and sat up, arms behind him for support. Celia skittered backwards into Lilly's legs.

"Sirius Black," she shrieked, "I swear to God, if you ever pull something like that again I will replace your head with a flobberworm."

"What'd I do?" Sirius questions, innocently.

Lilly and Meredith grabbed Celia's arms before she could jump to her feet and strangle him. James helped Sirius off the floor and gave him a curious look. Sirius's face read, "I'll tell you later."

"Cel, what happened?" Meredith asked, calmly.

"He happened." She pointed to Sirius, who's expression read, "Who, me?"

"I didn't do anything."

"My foot, you didn't. I was looking for a book on modern astrological star arrangements when I hear this loud thump, so of course I go to investigate. What do I find? This idiot has bewitched the entire herbology section of the library to hover and bite. He obviously knew that the first years have a paper due on some of the plants this week. Well, I couldn't very well let the poor wee first years to suffer through one of his ill thought out plans, so I tried to stop him. He sicked one of the books on me."

"Did not," Sirius interrupted. "She did it all on her own. Not my fault the girl can't aim for beans and she hit one of my lovely creations."

"Oh, shut up, Sirius. It gets worse though. He says he's trying to get the evil, rabid book off of me, but he trips over his own feet and ends up falling into one of the shelves. The entire thing comes crashing down and the vile, living books start flying off the shelves in all directions. Well, the librarian, poor dear, gets bitten by one of the flying books and comes storming up the room as students duck for cover. She starts cursing anything that moves, including students not smart enough to take refuge under the table. Well, she is looking daggers at Sirius when smart boy here decides it would be a brilliant idea to kiss me. Yeah, well, I was over taken with surprise, and apparently so was the poor women since she tried to hex me too. I didn't do anything. Well, moron grabs me and flees through the door being chased by flying books and an angry librarian," Celia finished, grabbing Lilly's hand and pulling herself off the floor.


	7. Who Knew Slytherins Could Ice Skate?

A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated, but life has caught up with me and I've been busy with simply everything. I shall put in another chapter in the near future. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Who knew Slytherins Could Ice Skate?

"Oh, do shut-up, all of you!" Celia grumbled as the entire group, for once, laughed together on their way back up to the common room. The laughing got louder as Sirius tackled Celia to the floor and kissed her solidly on the lips, his hands holding her wrists to keep from getting hexed. "Sirius Black, this really is too much. Get off of me. I swear it, if someone doesn't get him off of me soon, I will get back at all of you for it. Get off."

"Sirius, I think you should listen to her for once. I think she's pretty serious about a vendetta against you," laughed James, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, whatever. Celia, if you can't handle it, then don't look so tantalizingly open to the prospect of me." Sirius pulled himself up off of her.

Celia stomped off, managing to hook Sirius behind the knee with her foot as she got up. He fell heavily to the floor, gave her a half-smile and pushed himself back into a standing position. Celia looked smug as she walked off with the girls. The others followed, but the sound of heavy footsteps and the sounds of her name, stopped Lily for a moment. She turned, seeing Amos rounding the corner. "Lily," he called.

James mentally growled, stopping just a few feet behind Lily. Meredith had raced on to catch up with a distraught Celia, but Sirius and Remus had remained behind when they realized James had stopped.

"Lily, so glad I caught you. You know, there's a weekend in Hogsmeade this week if you'd like to, I don't know, maybe go with me?" Amos looked hopeful.

Lilly, not entirely sure she really wanted to be anything more than friends with Amos said, "Well, Amos, um, see the thing is-"

"She's going with me," James stated from behind her. Lily turned, staring at him in stunned silence.

"Oh, really, well I'm sure Lily would rather go with me since she promised we'd go out sometime soon. We decided a few weeks ago on the train, didn't we Lils?"

"Actually, Amos, I said I'd be glad to go out with you, but I never said anything about jumping into a relationship. I hope that's okay. Maybe we can meet for a while and then hang about with James?"

"Well, if I can't have you the entire day, I suppose I can share. After all, I've always liked a good challenge." This he said while looking pointedly at James. "I'll meet you at the gates in the morning, sound good?"

"Sounds absolutely lovely, Amos. Thank you for offering."

Lily smiled as Amos turned and ran of again for his own common room.

"So, we have a date, huh?" smiled James.

"I suppose so, Potter, but don't make a big deal out of it. It's only a date after all."

James watched her skirt twitch from side to side as she passed him up the corridor to the common room door. The back view was just as good as the front. "Gotta love those uniforms," mumbled James to himself. Remus rolled his eyes then grabbed James and pulled him in the wake of their friends. They caught up to Lily as she entered the Head's common room, the others having long-abandoned the use of their own common room for anything but studying.

"They're at it again," whispered Remus.

Sure enough Celia and Sirius were having a tussle on the floor. Celia yelled, grabbed his hair, and banged his head against the floor before being thrown over and pinned down. Meredith, Lily, and Shannon rushed to grab their friend as the boys did the same to restrain Sirius from attacking.

"Good Lord, I am sick of this," Lily fumed as she relinquished her grip upon her friend. "You two, sit, now." She pointed her wand at them threateningly, so they both marched over to one of the couches. "Now I don't know about everyone else, but I have had quite enough of this rough and tumble, who's going to kill whom first stuff. You two have a group project to do together, is that correct?" There was a general murmur of consent. "Fine, if you two can manage to do your work, do well on it, and not lay a harmful finger upon one another for the entire duration of your work together, I will….I will…uh…"

"She will kiss me in front of the entire student body," piped up James.

"I would do anything to see Lily Evans willingly kissing James Potter," Sirius said with a roguish smile.

"Oh, shut-up Sirius. It would happen eventually anyway. It's obvious that their distaste for one another is merely a mask for their true, passionate, inner feelings." Everyone stared at Celia who had her hands clasped together at her chest with a goofy smile on her face, eyelids fluttering. "What?"

"I think I might have to kill you in your sleep." Lily glared.

"Then it's settled," beamed James. "Now everyone scuttle along now, Lily and I have work to do before making sure everyone is in their rightful bedroom tonight. Off you go now." James ushered them through the door to the Gryffindor common room.

"James Potter, the day I kiss you is the day pigs fly and the Slytherins ice-dance across the great hall."

"A challenge I am up to meeting."

With a final glare in his general direction, Lily turned on her heel and disappeared behind her bedroom door, feeling rather light and just a tinge annoyed.

The week had passed in a blur of confusion. Celia and Sirius were certainly having a problem keeping their end of the bargain, so Lily wasn't too worried that she'd have to keep her end. James had been overly obnoxious all week, dropping hints here and there that meant something to the effect that, once you have James Potter, you never go back. She could just see his smug face in her mind's eye as she readied herself for the walk down to Hogsmeade. It was unseasonably warm for the beginning of October, so she dressed accordingly in jeans and a blue and white pinstripe, button-up, blouse. Soft, brown shoes covered her feet and with the final addition of her money bag in her pocket and a sweater around her waist for if she got cold, Lily opened her door to find the head's common room already filled with friends ready to go down to breakfast and be on their way to the village.

"Lily, you are so slow this morning," moaned Shannon. "Are you this slow normally or am I imagining things? You always seemed to move faster when you lived with us. I think you have too much privacy now; that must be the problem."

"I assure you that I am moving just as quickly as I can, and if anything, I have less privacy than I have had in my entire educational career. You have to understand, looking this good takes time." Lily grinned, enjoying joking with her friends.

"The effort is well appreciated, believe me," said a voice from behind her. James had just emerged from his room.

"Shut-up, Potter."

"Children, children, can we stop this mindless banter and go get something to eat? I'm starving over here," chirped Sirius, coming in through the Gryffindor door.

With a good-hearted roll of the eyes, the group vacated the chairs and couches and proceeded down to the Great Hall, where many of the older students were already dining, excited about the first Hodgsmeade visit of the year. For some of them, it would be their first swaray into the village and they would inevitably get into some kind of trouble, but for those students who had been anxiously waiting their first chance to go back into the magical village since they boarded the train, the trip was an outlet for their pent-up energy and a de-stressor. The Gryffindor group sat themselves around one another along the long benches that sat parallel to either side of the Gryffindor table, several of them positioning themselves so as to get a good view of the rest of the hall and its buzz of early morning students.

Sirius and James were concentrating hard on their breakfast, shoveling eggs, toast, and bacon into their mouths as fast as humanly possible. Well, as fast as is possible for a teenager boy to eat.

"Sirius, really, the food is not going anywhere, there is no need for you to attack it," said Shannon, a smile on her lips.

"Buth, ber thith," said Sirius, in an un-understandable garble, spewing bits of partially masticated foot across the tabletop.

"Oh, now I'm really hungry," remarked Celia, her tongue dripping sarcasm.

"Stuff it, both of you," muttered James, having finally swallowed, allowing himself a moment's breath to talk..

With a slanted glance, Sirius turned sideways and lunged at James, pushing him, a piece of toast hanging from his mouth and all, to the floor. The others laughed as James and Sirius sat up on the floor. The students around them were shooting them glances from their respective tables.

"Why did you do that?" James asked, picking the piece of toast off his chest, where it had fallen.

"I don't know, felt like it. You looked like you could use a good shove to help gravity pull the food down into your stomach."

"Come on, boys, let's grow up a little bit and get down to the village," said Lily, getting up from the bench.

Getting untangled from one another, James and Sirius struggled on the floor, Remus and Peter stepped gingerly over them, and the girls rolled their eyes and walked around them. There was simply no way that either James or Sirius would ever fully grow up. They checked themselves off the caretaker's list as they headed out the gates in a warbling line of students heading into Hogsmeade. The day was still warm, but there had been a definite drop in the temperature in last few weeks, so there was a chill wind blowing the students about on their way down to the village.

"Oh, look, it's 'darling Sevy," mocked Sirius in a high voice.

The boy in question turned towards them as the group stopped near him, the girls pleading with them to continue on and leave Severus Snape alone for once in their measly lives. He was tall, stooped slightly, like he tried to huddle in upon himself and become invisible to the rest of the world. He spared a glance for Lilly before looking away again.

"James, you touch him, I swear to God and any other deity I can think of, I will never speak to you again, and you will regret the day you messed with my friend." Lily nearly growled it out between tight lips.

"Lils, it's only a little bit of fun, calm down. I'm not going to do anything if you're that upset about it." James shrugged at her angry face.

"Come here, now." Lily grabbed Severus by the arm and dragged him out of sight of the others, who continued on down the street, casting annoyed glances back at the pair. Few of her friends understood why Lily Evans would ever be friends with a frigid, self-absorbed, anti-social pureblood like Severus. He just was not the type of boy most of the students, and silently some of the professors agreed, thought that Lily should be involved with either socially or romantically. They didn't run in the same circles and no one thought that their friend-status relationship would ever change from what it was, except perhaps Severus himself. She didn't talk to him as much now, not since their had a falling out over him calling her a "mudblood" while she tried to protect him from the childish wit of James Potter.

"Calm down, Sev. You know Sirius just likes to tease you. You can't let him get to you because he's just not worth it. Why don't we go get a butterbeer? I can catch up with the rest of the later and you look like you could use the break from whatever it is you were doing. Please?"

Truth be told, it was the 'Please' that made him agree. Severus could never tell Lily 'no' when her lips formed pleading words. It was just too much for his resistance sometimes and he would give her anything in the world if she would just ask for it, even if he had to act like he didn't care for her anymore. It had started in their childhood. Love, that is. He had fallen in love with the fiery haired Lily Evans while growing up down the street from her. He could not help but be captivated by her mesmerizing green eyes from an early age. Sometimes he wondered how James was so cool and calm around her. Then again, he was the one being and idiot and getting on her bad side by being a complete dolt to her friends. At least Potter managed to make a scene of himself every time he was anywhere Lily. It was quite disgusting, really, to see the prized Gryffindor prat doing all the wrong things to get into the good graces of a girl like Lily by making a nuisance of himself whenever she was around.

"Lily!" called Shannon from down the road. The group had stopped just far enough down the street that they could still see her, but she had some semblance of privacy.

Lily looked uncertain, so Severus made the decision for her. "Lilly, go. Your friends are waiting and I don't want your pity."

"It's not pity, Severus. I'm your friend still, even if you and I aren't as close as we used to be."

"Go on, Lils. I will catch up with you some other time. I promise."

They smiled at one another. "Alright, but I will hold you to the promise. See you later, Severus!"

He watched Lily jog up the main street in the village to her friends. She looked back over her shoulder and her favored her with a little wave. She smiled in return and followed her friend into the candy shop.

&&&&

Inside the shop, all was chaos. The boys had already gathered their bags of sweets by the time the girls reached them.

"Lily, would you care to get a butterbeer with me?" asked James, offering her a piece of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.

"I suppose I could agree to that." She smiled.

Shannon put her arm out, keeping Sirius from following them out. He gave her a questioning look. "Let them be alone for a bit. It's voluntary."

Out on the street, students and villagers alike roamed about, doing their dialing activities or just enjoying the weather. The wind blew Lily's hair about in a large mass. Annoyed, she grabbed it, pulling it down into a low, messy bun just to keep it out of the way. James smile, opening the door to the Three Broomsticks tavern. The owner's daughter, Rosmerta, smiled at the two of them and waved. On weekends she worked for her father, while during the week she lived and studied up at the castle with the rest of the students. James led Lilly to a table near the back, offering a little privacy. They settled into the table, the drinks arrived, and they sat in an awkward silence.

"This is like being on a first date, isn't it?"

"Yep, nice and awkward, just the way it should be," quipped James.

"This is stupid. We know each other fairly well, this shouldn't be weird. Why is it weird?"

"Because for once you're not trying to hex me and I'm not trying to get you to go out with me. You came of your own accord…for once." James grinned.

"True. Maybe you're right, but this is not a date, Potter. This is just two friends hanging out during their day out in Hogsmeade." Lily sipper her butterbeer.

"Of course, whatever you want it to be, it shall be, Lily."

The large main room of the tavern was slowly filling up with late morning patrons, mostly students, sipping from butterbeer bottles or steamy mugs of hot chocolate or tea, just the thing to fight off the chilly cool feeling that the wind put into people's bones. _It isn't so unpleasant sitting with James_, Lily thought. At that moment, the door opened and Amos walked in, yelling, "Lily!" across the room. James' face twitched as Amos walked towards their table.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I will post the next chapter soon. Review, please. 


	8. Testosterone and Toasts

A/N: I think this is the fastest I have ever updated before. The creative juices must be flowing. Enjoy the fruits of my labor and please review for me. A BIG thank you to everyone who put me on alerts and favorites. I feel so special! Enjoy your new chapter!

Chapter 8: Testosterone and Toasts

"Amos, I didn't think you would be joining us this early." He raised an eyebrow at Lily. "Oh, uh, not, um, that is to say, not that I'm unhappy about you joining us. Sorry, please sit down."

Lily sat back down in her chair as Amos sat in one next to her, across from James. The boys stared at one another as Rosmerta, being the observant girl she was, arrived with their drinks and an additional bottle for Amos. As she left, she gave Lily a knowing pat on the shoulder. Lily rolled her eyes and smiled back at her older school friends. Amos was smirking as he leaned over he butterbeer and stared right back at James, who was doing his best not to blink and look menacing at the same time.

"So glad you could join us, Amos," James said with mock sincerity.

"Well, I figured Lily could use a rescue from your presence as soon as possible. I saw you two come in here unaccompanied and figured I should join just a bit earlier since you two didn't have a chaperone to act as referee."

"Actually, they were getting along quite well, Amos," quipped Rosmerta as she passed the table with another order of drinks for a rowdy, smiling table of students across the room.

"Thank you, Rosmerta," James called after her. She turned her head as she put the emptied the drinks tray and winked at him.

"Well, uh, how have classes been so far for everyone? Mine are going quite well. I'm really enjoying my---"

"You know, James, she really isn't your type. I didn't think attractive _and _intelligence were what you looked for in a girl." Amos leaned back in his chair.

"Yes, Lily is both those things, Amos. I am so glad you have noticed attributes in her that the rest of the student body noticed the first time they laid eyes on her. So glad you managed to catch up with us finally. Your mother will be so proud you've matured so quickly. I expect she thought it would take much longer than this."

Amos' eyes flashed. "Don't you talk about my mother, James. You say one more word and I will deck you, I swear it."

"Such odd weather we're having, don't you think, boys? So little rain lately." Lily's voice was high and shrill as she tried to diffuse the situation. They ignored her.

"Really? Would you now?" James leaned back in his chair, tilting it backwards onto two legs.

"James, don't you bait him. Honestly, let's just enjoy our drinks, shall we?"

"Shut it, Lily. Right now this really has nothing to do with you."

"Oh it doesn't? Really? Then tell me what it is about, Amos, because if it's not about her I'd really like to know what's gotten you so hot under the collar." James took a swig of his butterbeer and places it oh so carefully on the table.

"It's about you insulting my mother, Potter," he spat back.

"Oh, is it really? I haven't said anything about your mother except that she'd be proud of you finally reaching maturity. I could have said, for example, that she probably dropped you on your head as a baby. That would explain all of the problems you have."

"James…" Lily warned.

"Or I could have mentioned that you probably take after her, I mean, with the mustache and all. You father doesn't wear the pants in the family, does he? Because you don't strike me as having had a real, strong father figure in your life. You're much too soft and feminine for that."

"One more word, Potter, and I swear," said Amos through gritted teeth.

"One more word and you'll what? I really want to know. Glad to know we're migrated from using my real name. Is that just you trying to be scary and menacing in front of Lily, or have you truly forgotten what my real name is? I understand being dropped on your head tends to affect the memory. Admit it, Amos, you just can't stand competition for a girl you've got your eye on, can you? Can't take the pressure, right? Well, you know what they say: If you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen."

Amos shoved the table over onto James, who rolled sideways out of his chair and sprung to his feet. Lily sat wide-eyed in her chair, staring at the upturned table. Across the room, behind the bar, Rosmerta's father groaned out an exasperated, "O' fer feck's sake, before reaching under the bar for his wand. Rosmerta rushed forward and pulled Lily, chair and all, out of the line of fire. Now, one would think that being wizards and having wands in their possession, these two young men would have used them. However, instead of taking such an obvious course, they fell on one another, trying to inflict bodily harm all by themselves. Fists flying, students and adults patrons alike trying to get out of the way without getting involved, the boys tumbled too the floor. The bartender shot a stunning spell into their brawl and missed as they rolled away. They managed to stand for a moment before James sent Amos back to the floor with a nice fist to the gut, but he didn't stay down for long. It took only a moment, but in the blink of an eye, he sent James flying over a table towards the door. James took out the whole table, drinks, chairs, and a middle aged male wizard who wasn't quick enough to get out of the way.

It was at this moment that Lily got angry. Brushing Rosmerta off, she raised her wand, sighted down her arm, and pointed the wand as Amos lunged over the fallen table to land on James, who rolled out of the way into a chair. The two sprang up and entangled themselves again. She yelled an incantation and the two boys were forced backwards out the door as a loud bang sounded. Lily, eyes flashing, hair flowing out behind her, followed them out through the broken door, kicking fallen objects out of her way as she went. The crowd inside the bar followed, naturally. Outside on the street, the boys lay in a head, groaning. Their friends stood, looking shocked, near the door, having been about to enter the pub. The two boys began to stand up.

"Sit!" Lily yelled. They ignored her. "I said, sit!" She pointed her wand and they sat forcefully back down. "I will not put up with this. For God's sake, grow up, both of you. Do you think that any girl would ever be interested in the pair of you? You make a terribly sad picture, you two dimwits. Here's an idea, why don't you tone down the testosterone and stop thinking with your penises. Honestly, I know you have brains, but have either of you used them today? Oh, no, of course not. You two had to get into a 'whose is bigger' fight and start making a huge, destructive scene in the middle of the village. What's the matter with you two, honestly? I've known rats with more sense than the two of you. Do you think girls like having immature little boys who can't figure out how to woo a woman? Do you? Get a grip. If you want me, while fighting is flattering in its idea form, is stupid and destructive and quite frankly, you're both just pissing me off. Now, come off it, both of you, because if you don't, I will beat the mother living crap out of both of you. And you've made me cuss! I can't believe you've brought me down to your level of speech. I give up. I am leaving. Now, you will apologize to Rosmerta and her father, clean up the mess you've made of this place, and then you will come find me and apologize for acting like total gits. Next time you want to fight over a girl, think first and let her choose. Here's an idea, why don't you try for a little bit of romance instead of bruising and bloodying each other up. Thank you very much for ruining what was becoming an absolutely lovely day. Really, thanks." She turned to heir friends and the assembled crowd. "Kelly, Shannon, we've leaving these idiots to their own devices. And you," she pointed to the other marauders, "can stay and help them clean up since you could all probably use the same lesson before you mess up too."

Lily stomped off down the street leaving the boys all looking at one another. Amos and James looked at one another, shook hand, mumbled apologies, and went inside to help Rosmerta's father with the aftermath.

&&&&

"Lily, put the wand down," said Shannon, carefully prying it out of Lily's fingers.

They maneuvered her to Madam Puddifoot's, a small teashop, to calm down. A pot of good, strong tea was set out in a silver pot in the middle of the table, cups and saucers in a delicate, pink flower pattern all appeared on their table in a few brisk moments by a plump, motherly, middle-aged woman. Kelly poured the tea as Alice, another Gryffindor girl of their age, popped in and pulled up a chair.

"Alice? I thought you weren't coming back to school until Christmas?" asked Shannon.

"Well, that was the plan after my sister died in that, um, incident. You know, it's hell out there what with all the dark magic going on. But, my parents decided I would be safer here than anywhere else at the moment, so I put my things up at the castle and came down to the village to find you guys; I'm so glad they did. I got here just in time to witness Lily Evans giving a bunch of boys just what they deserved." Alice smiled.

The teacups were filled. "A toast: to Lily, the tamer of all stupid men." The cups made a lovely clinking sound as they toasted her success. Lily finally took a deep breath and smiled. It wasn't such a bad day, if she thought about it. After all, she had the rest of the day to make up for it.

A/N: Please, please review for me. I, and all the other writers out there, really appreciate comments. Thank you for reading! I will post again soon. 


	9. Snow and Snogging

Chapter 9: Snow and Snogging

At dinner that evening Lily was still seething with the last flickering flames of her anger. Amos had found her as soon as he had returned from the village to apologize profusely for letting James get under his skin and for acting in general like a toad. He had certainly looked genuinely sorry. Lily agreed to give him another chance and meet him that evening for a little bit to make up for the deplorable beginning to her day, to which he had contributed. At the same time she spoke with Amos, she found herself wondering if James would actually apologize, and if he did, would he actually mean it? She wondered about his bullish personality sometimes, because he wasn't all that bad, really. He did have some moments, though. But then again he could act like quite a prevent, although she thought that maybe he did it for the shock value more than anything else. Yes, James Potter was certainly a puzzle she would have to piece together.

There was a soft knock at her bedroom door. "Come in," she called.

James' sheepish face appeared around the dark wood of the door. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Depends on what your interpretation of a minute is, James."

"More than sixty seconds, less than five minutes. How's that for a definition?"

"I think I can hear you out."

"Thanks." James stepped into the room and sat down in her desk chair, hands folded and dangling across his knees as he hunched over, looking up at her. "Look, Lily, I'm sorry about this morning. I really did want you to enjoy your time with me because I know we are semi-friends, but I think you think I still make your life miserable. I'm not trying to; it's just that sometimes I can't help it. I do or say stuff on impulse, and the worst of it always seems to be in front of you. I think it's karma's way of punishing me for not thinking…and maybe for tormenting first years. I know I embarrassed you, but you were pretty ho- I mean, intense, when you offered us your ultimatum." He smiled as she rolled her eyes, and her face softened into the friendly lines that he so often dreamed about now.

"Well, at the risk of sounding like a cheesy movie, a girl's got to do, what a girl's got to do." Lily smiled, forgiving him, and even ignoring the almost slip of the tongue, since he didn't actually upset her feminist sensibilities by calling her "hot." Intelligent, hardworking women who earn their positions of leadership are not "hot," they are "beautiful," "gorgeous," "pretty," or even "mysterious," but never "hot." Although, a small part of her, a very small part, wouldn't really have minded if he had said it.

Lily stood from her perch on the couch and took a couple of steps forward. She cocked her head slightly to one side. "James, it's really, mature of you to apologize like that. It takes a bigger man to own up to his mistakes than to pretend they didn't happen."

"Er, Lily," James said in an almost whisper. She was just a few steps from him now where she stood next to the couch. In the dim light from the winter dark window and the warm shadows cast by the lit fireplace, she looked like an innocent, little girl. Her hair was cool fire, flowing over her shoulder to fall across her shirtfront.

"What?" Lily looked at him waiting for him to finish whatever it was he wanted to say.

"I'm really sorry about this." He closed the short gap between them, pulled her to him, hands grabbing her waist, lips descending upon hers in a moment of fierce determination. A shock of electricity ran between them, raising gooseflesh. The world narrowed down to a tiny point, leaving them in the circle of lips and arms as the rest of the room fell away into oblivion. Lily rested her hands on his shoulders, pushing him gently back, breaking the kiss.

"James, no. We can't." She pressed a small, long-fingered hand on his chest, looking up into his eyes with a depth of unspoken emotion. Lily turned and walked out their common room door, glancing back at him over her shoulder before the heavy, wooden door closed.

James stood stunned, staring at the place where his retreating fiery mistress of love, as his imagination liked to call her, has disappeared. A small ache started somewhere deep in his chest as the chill of the room settled back into reality. That had been an unexpected turn of events, and he didn't think either one of them had disliked it.

************

He'd kissed her. James had kissed her, and she had liked it. She had _liked_ it. It had felt so good, like warm hot chocolate running from her head to her toes; like a cozy evening at home by the fire; like spring rain on a warm day when all the earth looked fresh and new. She was being ridiculous, of course. Lily shook her head, trying to grab a hold back onto reality. There was no way she could have feelings for James Potter; they would never work out. But then again… She obviously wasn't being reasonable. Lily rounded a corner, heading for the library where she hoped to find Shannon or someone else to talk these odd feelings out with.

Inside the library she could find not one of her friends. Where could they all be? It was the weekend. There were only so many places they could go. Lily collapsed into an armchair, thinking where else to look.

"What's going on, Lily? You look rather pensive." Sirius leaned over the back of her chair, looking down into her face.

"I can't find any of the girls, and I really need to talk to them about a problem."

"Anything I can help with?" he said, pushing hair out of his face as he sat in the chair on the arm of the large chair.

"It's girl stuff."

"I do know a thing or two about girl problems, believe it or not. I have some close cousins that are girls. Very odd bunch, they are."

"Actually, Sirius, why not?"

"Exactly. What can go wrong just talking out your problem with me, right?"

"Well, there's this guy."

"Amos?"

"No, another guy. I didn't think there was anything between us, but today he, um, well let's say he made a move on me."

"Okay, thus far I don't see the problem. What did he do?"

Lily blushed. "He, uh, well he kissed me." Sirius raised an eyebrow. "And I enjoyed it. That's the problem. I really enjoyed it. It felt like the floor collapsed around us, and the world exploded in fireworks, and that if he stopped I would just die."

"Well that sounds intense, Lily girl. What did you do?"

"Well, I pushed him away and left, of course. I know Amos and I aren't serious, but I was just so confused, and it felt so good, but I don't think anything good can come of it, and I've got to make sure things are just friendly with Amos first, you know?"

"Let me get this straight. He kissed you, you liked it, but you made him stop and then just left? Lily, what the hell? It's obvious there's something more than just liking him; there's some serious attraction. Could it really hurt anything to take a chance for once and see if anything could come of it? Stop playing it safe all the time. Maybe you need to take a chance once in a while. You might find exactly what you're looking for."

Lily gaped at him. "When did you become the wise voice of reasons, Sirius Black?"

"No idea. I must have grown up a little bit, or maybe hell is freezing over as we speak." Lily laughed as Sirius smiled down at her from his perch.

"We all seem to be growing up. With the Wizarding world in the state that it is in right now, I'm not sure I want to grow up yet."

"That's why everyone needs to know who their friends are these days. You never know who might be a death eater anymore."

"Thanks, Sirius. I've got some things to think about now."

"No problem," Sirius said, standing. "And Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe you should talk to James about this. Just a thought." Sirius turned and walked away, leaving Lily gaping at his back, wondering how in the world he know who she was talking about.

**********

"Lily?" called a voice, followed by loud knocking on the door.

James opened it, revealing Shannon. "Hi, James. I need to see Lily. Is she here?"

"No."

"What did you do?"

James looked at her. "Why do you think I did something?"

"You look guilty. What did you do?"

"I kissed Lily. I kissed her, and she left."

Shannon stared at him. "Well, Lily is skittish sometimes. Were you bad at it?"

"What? No, I'm not bad at it, thanks very much, Shannon." She glared at her, finally letting her into the room and closing the door.

"Hey, it's always a possibility. Was she crying? Did she look mad? Did she say anything?" Shannon leaned against the fireplace.

"No, no, and just that she couldn't do that. I don't even know what I did wrong? I mean, I spend every moment around her making a fool of myself, but the moment I feel like I've done something right, she turns and runs from me." James ran his hand through his dark hair in a familiar gesture.

"Don't think too much into it, James. Sometimes Lily just needs to work things out on her own. Just act the exact same as you've been acting, and see if you can learn what she's really thinking. But if she's not here, then I've got to go find someone else with the charm's homework assignment, because I forgot to write it down." Shannon walked to the door. "Be careful with her, James. If you hurt her, I will hurt you right back, got it?"

"Is that a threat coming from out gentle Shannon?"

Shannon smiled. "Yes, James. You should know that I'm serious, then, since you know I don't do that."

"I promise not to do it on purpose."

"I can accept that answer." A turn of long hair, and James was once more left alone in the common room with no more idea what to do about Lily than he had earlier. Girls were confusing, he decided, walking to his room. As he passed the large common room window, he looked out on the white brightness, fading in the cold darkness of night. It was beginning to snow.

A/N: Chapter 10 will follow shortly. Enjoy!


	10. Grownups

Chapter 10: Grown Ups

For a weeks now, Lily and James had avoided each other for the most part. Their paths only crossed for classes and meals, but in their rooms, they avoided one another after the weekend's romantic interlude. Every time Lily looked at James Potter, his eyes were watching her with a patient, thoughtful look. It was weird. She had never thought of James as thoughtful too often. It was a Friday in early November. Christmas and the end of term were quickly approaching. Visits into the village had come and gone with little interaction between the two. Both groups of friends were cautious about the subject of the two obliviously in love students.

It was on an oddly sunny, cold day that the post arrived, bearing interesting news. There had been more and more stories of missing wizards, family members found dead, and destruction pouring into the school. Some students left to join their families. Lily told her parents nothing, trying to keep them from panicking. She had asked the headmaster, Dumbledore, a young wizard with brown hair and a long beard, if something could be done to protect her family from the chaos, and he said he would take care of it. As the owls began to land with messages, a small, white owl perched on the table in front of Celia.

"Well, hello there, little fellow." She picked up the small letter the own gave her as the little creature began to nibble on her toast. "It's from my mom." The other girls leaned in, immediately alert. "She says my aunt and uncle have disappeared so both my little cousins are living at our house now. They have no idea what's happened to them. Oh God, this is so not good. They are too little to lose both parents." Celia's eyes filled.

Lily rested a hand on her shoulder as Shannon reached across the table to hold Celia's hand. "Celia, you never know. They could be fine, and your family will hear from them soon."

"Lily, stop being optimistic. We don't get the luxury of optimism anymore, and you know it." A small sob escaped her lips as the owl cocked its head at her before continuing to attack the toast. An arm encircled Celia's shoulders as the bench moved under Sirius' weight.

"It's okay, Celia." Unexpectedly, the onlookers held their breath as she curled into his chest, face hidden from them, her hand clutching at his robes as she cried. Sirius ran his hand through her hair, rubbing her back. "You're fine, the kids are fine, your parents are fine, your brother and sister are fine. Your siblings are even here with you, so you've got to pull it together, at least for your little sister. You have to be strong for her, or she will worry. Come on, little girl, you can do this. Just breathe." Sirius rested his chin on her head, eyes glaring at the curious looks from their friends.

Professor McGonagall strode over. "Mr. Black, why don't you take Ms. Kingston to the Gryffindor common room to rest. You're both excused from classed until she is under more control of her emotions. If one of the professors questions your absences, tell them to see me."

Sirius stood, taking Celia with him, leaving the table to gape after them.

"What was that? When did he become Mr. Knight in Shining Armor?" asked Meredith.

"He's liked her for a while, obviously, and now he gets a chance to show her that he can take care of her," Remus answered, watching their retreating backs. Where were Celia's siblings, anyway? Someone needed to make sure they knew, too, if they didn't already.

"It's sweet, really," Shannon said.

"Celia never admits anything where Sirius is concerned. Perhaps we were all wrong about their abilities to get along," Remus said.

"It's in times of trouble that he's the best," James said, addressing his empty breakfast plate.

"I didn't say the rest of you could skip classes, now go," said Professor McGonagall, who was still standing behind them.

A chorus of "sorry, professor" rose as the students gathered themselves for class. As James reached for his bag, an owl with feather's arranged oddly by the wind landed on it, dropped a letter, and retreated for rest in the owlry.

"What is it, James?" Meredith inquired as her busy fingers finished braiding her long hair back from her face.

James scanned the letter, looking stunned when he raised his gaze to them. "I'm going to be an auror. I've been accepted."

"James, that's great," said Lily, addressing him directly for the first time in almost a month.

"Thanks, Lily."

"Yeah, that's great, James." Remus patted him on the back. "You'll have to tell Sirius later. He will flip."

"Yeah, thanks, guys," said James, as his friends gave them his congratulations.

The group headed for the doors once more, James smiling slightly as he held the letter in his hand. In the front hall, the group split for different classes. The girls headed down toward the dungeons and their potions lessons, but impulsively, Lily turned and walked back to James, hugging him about the neck. She whispered into his ear, "Congratulations, Potter," before turning around and running back to the steps down, blushing.

Remus raised an eyebrow. James' face took on a goofy expression. "He'll be impossible to live with today," Remus said to Peter as the walked out the open front doors to herbology. "Absolutely impossible."

***********

It was Sirius who got Celia safely to the Gryffindor common room, Sirius who sat her down on a window seat looking out on the newly snowy grounds, and Sirius who let her lean against him and cry out her emotional turmoil. When her tears had turned to quiet whimpering, he held her to him, leaning against the wall as she rested in his lap, legs outstretched across the red and gold stripped cushion. A handful of students with a free period had wandered in and quickly wandered back out of the common room at a pointed look from Sirius.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm making you miss classes, and you're clothes are all wet from my crying," said Celia, sitting up from his lap, wiping a drifting tear from her face.

"Like I mind missing classes, Celia. I would hope you think more of me than to believe that I'm doing this for kicks and not because I care about you." Celia stared at him.

"Why _are _you doing this, Sirius? You have no reason to comfort me. One of the girls would have willingly taken your place. You can go now. I won't hold you up any longer."

"Damn it, Celia, stop it. Just stop acting like this. You know I would rather be here making sure you are alright than in a classroom wondering if you are fine or not. Believe it or not, but as your friend, I really care about you. Let me help you." Sirius' look at her was heated. He reached out a gentle hand and wiped an escaped tear from her cheek.

"Oh, Sirius," Celia said as she sat in the V of his legs. She stared at him before collapsing back into his embrace, back resting on his chest, head tucked beneath his chin. Sirius reached down, holding her in his arm, put gentle fingers under her chin, tilted her face up to look at him. He kissed her then, all the pent up emotion spilling between them; all the anger, all the frustration, all the jokes, all the caring moment, everything coursed through their gentle kiss.

Sirius pulled back, "I love you, you silly girl, and you'd known that already if you would only have stopped to look at me. I will protect you."

"Sirius, I can't…I can't tell you---"

"You don't have to. I will be here waiting for you when you are ready to accept me, Celia Kingston. I will be here patiently waiting for as long as you need me to be, because I love you, and now you know." Sirius kissed the top of her head as she leaned back against him again. The sun set the cold outside world into a flurry of green color as they sat together and watched the world go by for a short time before they would have to join their friends in class.

***************

"James?" Lily said, sitting down next to him at the midday meal.

"Well, I see you have gotten over your shyness, Lily. So nice of you to deem it polite to speak to me again. It must be such a sacrifice on your part." James knew he sounded mean, but she'd been so quiet since they had kissed that it had worried him, and when he got worried, he got defensive.

"James, I'm sorry I haven't been talking to you. I've been rude in my silence, but I needed to think about a lot of things."

James took a bite of his cooked salmon, shooting her a sidelong glance. Lily was staring hard at her plate. Those around them couldn't hear what they were saying to each other over the din of hundreds of students eating. _Stop being a jerk, James,_ he thought to himself._ You're only going to push her away._

"Lily, I really don't want to talk to you right now. You hug me this morning and act like we're friends, but the fact remains that you haven't spoken to me seriously in weeks, and I'm not okay with it. You don't treat friends that way. Why don't you run back to Amos? I'm sure you two will be very happy together. You certainly make a cute couple."

Lily looked at him like he'd slapped her. "James, I…how can you…you're such an ass." She stood and left the Great hall, eating nothing, but not before James saw the hurt look and beginning of tears in her eyes. _Shit,_ he thought.

"Good job there James, looks like you really made her fall madly in love with you." Sirius took Lily's vacated seat at the table as Shannon and Meredith walked past them, following Lily out. Meredith shot James a look of poison as they passed.

"I know. I can't seem to keep my big mouth shut, but she's so frustrating." James put his head in his hands, leaning against the table. Addressing the wood tabletop, he said, "What's the matter with me, Sirius?"

"She's been ignoring you, and it hurt our sensitive male feelings, and now she's trying to make up so you feel the instinctive need to react with aggression now that she's ready to make up. James, seriously, just cool off and apologize. She'll talk with you and then all will be fine." Remus sat smugly watching him as she finished. Shannon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Just talk to her. It's just a spat between friends, no big deal," said Peter.

********

Lily shoved her way into the girls' restroom, leaning against the door. She took several deep breaths. She shouldn't have expected him to nice, she supposed. After all, she had neglected their struggling friendship for a while. Blinking to clear her eyes, she opened the door at the hushed knocking of her friends.

"Lily?" came Shannon's soft voice. "Lily, let us in." The door opened to reveal Shannon and Meredith.

"Really, girls, I'm fine. I'm just over reacting to James being a jerk, but it's a forgivable offense. It's not like he killed my cat or anything. It's just sharp words because he feels hurt because I've been ignoring him. I get it. I do. I'm fine."

"If you say so, Lily. You know he didn't mean to be mean, right?" Meredith put a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course I do. It's fine, really. Let's get to class."

"Okay, if you say that you are fine, we are going to pretend to believe you," said Shannon.

Teenage wizarding drama was such a tentative dance sometimes.

***********

Charms class that day was eventful. Celia appeared and took her usual place at Lily's table, looking pale, but otherwise fine. Professor Markson wrote the instructions on the board. They were to levitate their table partners. Knowing how the class usually acted, giving them the chance to hover their classmates a few feet above the ground was probably not the best idea he had ever had.

"Ready, Celia?" asked Lily, memorizing the incantation in preparation.

"I think so, Lily Bell. I also think that I'm sorry if I dump your butt on the floor." Celia smiled.

"Oh, yeah? I have more confidence in your abilities. Let's give it a go, shall we?"

In sync, the two murmured the words and grabbed the edges of their chairs with one hand, wand in the other as the chairs began to rise.

"Told you we'd be fine," Lily said, smiling.

"Oh, my dear, we've only just begun to levitate. I have plenty of time still to dump us on the floor.

Across the rooms, those students who had managed the spell on the first shot were giggling and trying to move across the room. A chair whizzed across the room with Peter on it, causing Celia to lose concentration and drop Lily onto the floor, where Celia shortly joined here in a giggling pile.

"Remus Lupin, put Mr. Pettigrew down. He looks like he's going to be sick, and he is not going to be sick while hovering over my desk," called the professor.

"Sorry, professor," replied Remus, looking sheepish.

"And you two, stop that right now," the professor yelled as Sirius crashed into a wall.

James and Sirius had begun a battle of flying object and students, guiding them about the room at a fast pace, students ducking to keep from getting knocked in the head.

"I said, stop it," Professor Markson as James nearly knocked him down. The chairs all fell to the floor as he held his wand a lot and muttered a few words. "If I'd thought I was dealing with first or second year students, I would have given you something less destructive to do. As it is, you can all thanks Mr. Potter and Mr. Black for the extra essay you will all write for me, due next Friday, on misuses of magical spells for one's own amusement. Class dismissed. I don't care if it's early. Just get out of my classroom, all of you, you destructive animals." Professor Markson seethed in behind his desk as the students packed and almost ran out of the room.

"Great job, Sirius, James. Really, top notch. I can't tell you how excited I am about more homework," said Peter.

"Oh, stuff it, Peter. You have to admit, it was funny," said Sirius. "Besides, now all we have to concentrate on is the quidditch match against Ravenclaw tomorrow. We'll worry about work later." James, however relaxed he sounded, was watching Lily with a wary eye.

"I'll bet these lovely ladies will be there to cheer us on to victory." Sirius wrapped an arm around Meredith and Celia's shoulders. "Right, girls?"

"Oh, Sirius, you know I Lily could never support a team that plays against her boyfriend," said Meredith with a grin.

"Oh, shut-up, Meredith. I'll always be a Gryffindor fan and you know that just because I have a _friend_ on the opposing team does not mean my loyalties are torn." Lily glared at her across Sirius' body.

"Lily, dear," said Shannon, drawing her away from Sirius, "Meredith is just trying to get your goat. Right, Merry?"

"Of course. Our Lily is about a fickle as the Queen's guard. Once a Gryffindor fan, always a Gryffindor fan."

"Don't worry, Lils. We won't beat up on Amos too much," said James.

"Is that so, Potter?" she said, smiling slightly. "Well, what if I said it isn't Amos I'm worried about getting beaten? I think he'll be fine."

"Is that a challenge?" James asked.

"Oh, no. It's a statement of fact. You are likely to get hurt just because you do stupid things on the playing field."

"Oh, year?" James stepped towards her, looking down into her smiling face.

"Yeah, Potter." Lily stepped up, their bodies almost touching, her chin raised in amused challenge.

"Well, we'll just have to see, now won't we?"

"I believe so."

"Come off it, you two. We've been standing here long enough that classes have ended. It's time for dinner, come on." Sirius hated to miss a decent meal.

The halls were crowded with student heading for rooms to put down bags and the Great Hall. The group split as the girls went to the their side of Gryffindor Tower and the boys to their own, saying they would see each other at dinner in a few minutes. Sometime it was such a pain to lug around an entire bag of ridiculously heavy books. None of them missed the fact that Sirius and Celia had been walking very close to each other on the way up to the tower. Something interesting had obviously happened while the others were in class, something that would have to be learned through interrogation later on.

The Great Hall was filled to the brim with laughing, talking, eating students and the smell of hot food. It was during dessert that the young headmaster stood.

"Students, there has been a change in plans for tomorrow's quidditch game. I have been informed that one of their players has suffered an injury in his magical creatures class and will be unable to play. So, after careful deliberation with the heads of houses, we have come to the conclusion that the Gryffindor versus Slytherin game will be moved up to tomorrow," the boys stood at this, Sirius shouting "what?" perhaps too loudly. "and the match against Ravenclaw will be postponed until further notice. I will see you all tomorrow in your team colors." The headmaster sat.

"We need a completely different strategy with Slytherin. There's little to no time to prep the team," moaned James.

"Worried, Potter?" asked an oily voice.

"Go away, Malfoy. No one here wants to talk to you," said Sirius.

"Of course, Black. See you on the pitch tomorrow. I hope you enjoy seeing us win as much as we do." He smiled.

"Want to bet? You couldn't make a goal if you life depended on it," said James.

"A bet? Do you think that wise, Potter? I really hope you are ready to lose tomorrow. See you on the pitch." Malfoy swept away, meeting the rest of the Slytherin quidditch team at the doors.

"Down, Sirius. Down, James," murmured Remus, putting a hand on both their shoulders. "Beat him in the game, not in the hall."

"Tomorrow will be a bloodbath," said Celia, watching the two boys murderous looks.

"Yes, it will," came the voice of a boy behind them.

"What's the plan, John?" asked James.

"Well, as your fearless leader, I say the plan right now is to get yourselves up to the common room so we can plot with the rest of the team. Go," said John.

The boys left the table, grabbing players from their seats as they went.

"God help us, I have a bad feeling about tomorrow," said Shannon.

"I think we all do," said Lily, as the rest stood to follow the team up to the common room, looking with discomfort at their retreating backs. Oh yes, tomorrow would be an interesting day.

A/N: I've broken through the writer's block for the moment, so please enjoy reaping the benefits. Enjoy!


	11. Quidditch and Chaos

Chapter 11: Quidditch and Chaos

The morning outside of the castle was bleak, a gray sky that threatened rain, ice, snow, or an assortment of all three. The forest trees, just barely visible from James' window, were a scene from a Christmas card. Absolutely beautiful. If only the weather was a good sign, but the wind he could see moving the tree branches was a negative to their flying. They would have to compensate for the weather, but it wasn't their first time playing in inclement weather, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. James had been awake for some time now, having been unable to sleep most of the night after their team pow-wow. John was right; the match would be a difficult one, but certainly one they could win if they kept their wits about them. David, their new goalkeeper, was damn good at what he did, and if James could just manage to get the snitch after a few points, the possibility of winning was high. If only Michael, the other beater, could keep Sirius from obviously trying to be malicious about his bludgeons. There was a soft knock at his door, and a red head popped in.

"I heard your moving around in here, and figured you were nervous about the match today," she said, almost acting shy.

"I'm not nervous. I've just got a lot of pent up energy and couldn't sleep anymore."

"You lie, James Potter. I've lived with you for almost an entire term. When you are nervous over something you pace around your room at odd hours."

James stared at her. "Think you're pretty observant, huh?"

"Yes, yes, I do. Just be calm. You guys are going to great today. I know it."

"Uh, thanks, Lily," said James, giving her an odd look.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Lily said, "Well, that's all I really wanted to say. So, I'm going back to bed for a couple more hours. I really think you should, too." Smiling, she closed the door softly behind her.

The girl was a frustrating one.

********

It was a couple of hours later that morning that the students found themselves at a nerve-soaked, wrestles breakfast. The Gryffindor team sat together on one of the long bench discussing last minute strategies over protein. The rest of the house periodically walked by them, offering encouraging words and cheers. The hall was a mixed sea of green, red, silver, and gold. Everyone liked to show their loyalties on quidditch match days. John stood and ushered the team out the door towards the pitch and a pep talk.

"Lily, eat something. You're not allowed to be nervous for the quidditch team," muttered Meredith through bleary eyes as she slogged back another cup of tea.

"I'm eating, just slowly." Lily dug a spoon into her oatmeal in illustration.

"Oh come on, let's get out to the field. I can't stand to watch the Slytherins strut anymore. It's enough to make my breakfast come right back up," said Celia.

"Hey, Celia. We've been meaning to ask you something. What's going on between you and Sirius? What happened yesterday? You two seem to be getting along quite nicely as of late," asked Lily.

Celia blushed a light pink. "There's nothing going on. He was just a good friend. We're just working on our project together. There is absolutely nothing going on. Nothing. Nada Zippo. Zilch. Nothing."

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much," said Shannon. The girls giggled.

"Oh, shut-up, all of you. Let's go."

The walk to the field was a chilly one, and Lily was grateful for the warm sweater she had added to her weekend clothes. The stand covers would get hauled out if the weather turned really bad, but otherwise the field looked untouched and ready for battle. The girls claimed their seats early. Most of the students were still up at the castle, but the flow coming out was steadily rising. The teams were in the locker room still, preparing down to the last second.

"Oh, that's just bloody fabulous," grumbled John, looking out the entrance to the field at the cold raining beginning to fall. "That's just what we needed today."

"We've played in worse. We'll be fine," reassured James.

"Right then. Let's do this, team. Get out there and win this for Gryffindor," said John.

"That's a big cheesy, don't you think, John?" asked Michelle. Alyria stared over her shoulder, hefting her broom higher in her grip. The girls, with the help of John, were almost unbeatable chasers, but Slytherin had some new recruits, and a win was never certain.

"Yeah, I know. It was worth a shot, thought. Might have inspired you just a little bit. Well, what are you staring at me for? I'm all out of inspirational words. Get out on that playing field, and if you don't win, I'll hex all of you until your mothers can't pick you out of a lineup." John waved them out onto the wet field.

"He's such a rousing leader," said Sirius, stepping out.

"Well, what else are captain's for, Sirius?" James grinned.

They lined up facing the Slytherin team. They kicked off the ground, waiting for the ball to be put in play. Then, suddenly, the two teams were in motion as the quaffle left the referee's hand. Alyria snatched it up and off she went down the field, tossing it back and forth between herself and Michelle as John flew below them in an inverted triangle formation. In a gasp from the crowd, Michael smacked a bludger that narrowly missed Michelle's head back at its originator while Michelle did a flip on her broom, throwing the ball and forcing it past the Slytherin keeper and into the center hoop. Cheers rose from the crowd as she righted herself on her broom, ready to keep moving.

James hovered high over the game, able to watch everything while looking for the elusive, golden snitch. He watched Malfoy hover across the field from him, waiting for James to make a movie. It was how the slithery git played, by wit not ability, but James was no sop either at the brain games. Gryffindor had already scored once, but it would help their ranking to have a bit more of a lead before capturing the snitch. David, the Gryffindor keeper, blocked the first attempt at a Slytherin goal to a solid round of applause. John grabbed the slowly falling quaffle and headed back down the field towards the Gryffindor goal posts, but a well-hit bludger by one of the Slytherin beaters knocked it solidly out of his grip, allowing Katherine, one of the opposing chasers, to do a rather spectacular grab, and shoot it past David, who narrowed his eyes and said something. It was a good thing he wasn't a shouter, because Gryffindor would have been a down a point for unsportsmanlike conduct.

A few more goals passed back and forth, and the rain was pouring around them. It always seemed to be the worst weather when it was a quidditch game day. James could see Lily in the stands, watching the progress of the quaffle from John to Michelle, Michelle to Alyria, a grab from Alyria by Katherine, and back and forth from one side to the other. Game had been in play for about an hour, and the sense that James needed to find the snitch was growing, but he hadn't spotted it yet. The little thing was hiding somewhere. The rain was forcing some interesting moves from the opposing players, but there were also careless mistakes being made. The icy rain made the quaffle harder to hold, and there had been more fumbles with it than usual. Similarly, because of the rain, the snitch was far harder to find flying about its merry way. The bludgers, however, seemed to be reaching their targets more than the should have judging by the cuts and bruises blossoming on the players' skin.

James looked up again as Gryffindor scored a goal, tying the two teams. That was another thing about quidditch games; they always seemed to have need of a tiebreaker. A tie also meant dirtier playing. Alyria was sporting the beginnings of a beautiful shiner from a collision with a bludger. Sirius had a cut across his hand holding the bat where a Slytherin broom at nicked him. Katherine looked like she might have a broken rib or two from one of Sirius' supremely well-placed bludgers. One of the other Slytherin chasers, Dale, was using his left hand to keep the quaffle in play although he was right-handed because it looked broken from where James sat; Sirius and Michael were on the ball with the bludgers today. The wounds were evenly distributed among both teams. It would start to get blooding the seekers didn't get the job done soon, but James was distracted, watching Lily yell support for her team, and what were for her at least, vulgarities at the opposing side_. She is beautiful when she is wet and passionate about quidditch,_ thought James.

Sirius flew up beside him, knocking a bludger Malfoy's way from its original course towards James. "Mate, get your head back in the game and find the damn snitch."

"Right, I'm on it."

"You better be, Jamesy." Sirius left him to rejoin play. Thunder crackled in the dreary, wet sky. Oh good, electricity. Just what one wanted when playing a terribly safe game like quidditch.

Sirius was right; James needed to get back in the game, find the snitch, and end it all. He looked for Malfoy, who was slowly circling, eyes searching the field. "Where are you, you blasted, little ball?" James mumbled to himself.

Something small caught James' eye. It always happened that way. The snitch was never obvious about where it was. It always appeared in the peripheral vision, and you had to hope for the best in catching it. It was just behind the center Gryffindor goal post, just under the hoop. James looked up to see if Malfoy had noticed it; he hadn't, but he had noticed James watching him. Malfoy smirked at him, obviously thinking James was having just as difficult a time at finding the blasted the ball as he was. James carefully made a circle with Malfoy, staring at each other, periodically looking down every other second to look for the snitch. James, of course, was making sure it hadn't moved. He positioned himself slightly above and behind the goal. Then, he grinned, waved a hand at Malfoy, and dove for the goal. The Slytherin keeper dove out of the way with a yell as James flew almost directly into him, turning to grab the mischievous ball, but it buzzed away, James in hot pursuit; Malfoy had finally gotten into the game and caught up with him. The two glared at each, but James focused his attention down to the point, the ball. They followed it neck and neck across the field, between flying chasers, in a loop, and almost through the Slytherin goal posts. The tie remained, although narrowly, as David nearly let the quaffle slip out of his fingers and into the goal. James needed to find the snitch, and he needed to find it that minute.

Eyes darting around, he saw it. The stupid thing was hovering in the banner at the front of the Gryffindor stands. He went for it full-tilt, Malfoy at his shoulder, not ready to give up yet. The crowd screamed their approval at the match-up. The screams, however, turned into ones of slight panic as both James and Malfoy didn't let up speed, going in towards the front of the stands far too quickly to stop. They shoved each other with brooms and bodies, reaching for the snitch, coming ever closer. With a sound of cracking woods and yelling people, the two seekers crashed into the stands, taking people and benches out with them. The announcer shouted, "Shut-up, you idiots. Stop groaning and tell us who's got the damn snitch!" Professor McGonagall could be heard correcting his language, but she was drowned out by the yells of students and teachers alike. Who did have the snitch? From the pile of bodies, a pale, soaked arm appeared, bearing the golden snitch trapped between his fingers. Students climbed over each other to get out of the way. Malfoy and James were tangled up together, but it was the scarlet-clad arm that held his trophy high. A roar arose from the crowd as the teachers pulled the two boys from the wreckage of the stand, James sporting a broken arm and Malfoy a nasty gash across his forehead. They seemed otherwise okay. The referee yelled, "Winner: Gryffindor!"

The team descended on the stand, grabbing their seeker in a victory lap around the field, leaving the scowling, wet Slytherins to land. The Gryffindor team landed, offering sportsmanlike handshakes to the losing team, who turned their backs on the proffered hands and skulked back to the locker room to dry off. Grinning from ear to ear, Sirius tackled James, yelling at him for taking so long. Professor Markson appeared, ushering the wet players into the locker room to dry off and patch their wounds before celebrating with their fellow students. The locker room was loud as they changed into dry clothes, hair dripping rain droplets onto the garments, but they could care less. Outside the door, they could hear what sounded like he entire Gryffindor house, and maybe some hangers-on, waiting for them to emerge and the party to begin. Of course, the team members' close friends were the first to greet them, as they emerged to head back up to the tower. As Remus slapped James on the back, James noticed he looked pale and sick. He wondered what part of the lunar cycle they were on, and if he should prepare for an animal outing, but Remus was smiling at him, and his shared adrenaline high would not go down.

Up in the Gryffindor common room, the noise level was quadruple what it ever was for anything else. The house elves had brought up celebratory party food for the students, and the room offered welcome warmth to all. Everyone wanted to congratulate them, thank them, hug them, pat them on the back, or shake hands. It was a mad house of rapture in a win. Sirius grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice and claimed a couch chair to tell his recap of the game to his adoring followers from. James looked around as the team dispersed throughout the room. Lily was sitting on couch arm by the large fireplace, laughing with friends who were over the moon about the Gryffindor win. He pushed his way through the crowd until he stood before her.

Lily looked up at him with a wide grin. "Brilliant James! That was brilliant! Other than almost killing us all, it was brilliant grab. Great job."

Wordlessly, he grabbed her still cold from the cold and rain hand and pulled her to her feet. Taken by surprise, she rose, stumbling slightly, touching a light hand to his chest for balance. In one smooth movement, he grabbed her chin in his fingers and kissed her on her soft, pink lips. She responded with a small gasp of surprise. It all happened quite quickly from point A. on the couch to point B. in his arms. James pulled away, staring at her, the adrenaline high still soaring. Lily blinked at him, her wind-pink cheeks reddening further. Meredith, Celia, and Shannon stared at them, eyebrows raised.

Lily balled her hand in his shirtfront, standing on tiptoes until her lips were centimeters from his ear. "Congratulations, Casanova." She kissed him on the cheek before releasing him and pushing him gently away with her sock-clad foot. James' curious look was almost immediately obscured by eager fans that wanted his perspective on the game, and what were Gryffindor's chances of winning the championship. It was a long time later that James found himself sitting down next to Sirius and the rest of the Marauders.

"Nice move there, James. I think the whole house saw that little romantic interlude you had going on over there with one Miss Lily Evans. She seemed to take it well, mate," said Sirius.

"I noticed. Wonder what's going on in that head of hers."

"Well, James, my boy, I'd say she was over come by your smashing capture and now she can hardly stand to keep her hormone-ridden hands off of you." Sirius grinned wickedly at him. "I can come up with a few things that might be going on in her head, if you would like me to share them with you."

"No, Sirius. I think I can guess what you are thinking, and I bet money that if she heard you, she might kill you," replied James.

"Sirius, leave the guy alone. He's had quite a week this week, what with the game, and the letter from the ministry, and of course, now the entanglement with a lovely female," said Remus.

"Now you boys wouldn't be talking about my dear, close friend Lily, now would you?" asked Shannon, leaning over Remus' chair back.

"Of course not," said Sirius, acting offended. "How can you think we'd talk about one of our lovely lady friends in any light by glowing and holy?"

"Uhuh, I believe that, Sirius Black, like I believe you love Coral, who I might add, proclaims herself to James' one and only true love. Just so you know, James." Twisting to look at Remus, she added, "Are you alright, Remus? You look a little ill? Did the weather get to you today? I swear everyone is going to be going to the hospital wing after spending so much time in the cold and rain."

"No, I'm fine, Shannon, really. I just need a bit of rest tonight. Haven't been sleeping well, and the rain certainly did not help my immune system." Remus smiled.

"Well, you boys behave, I'm off to bed. Congratulations, again. Way to go Gryffindor." Shannon smiled, ruffling James' and Sirius' hair, and giving Remus one more concerned look before leaving the party for the girls' dormitory.

"Remus, is it that time of the month?" asked James, leaning in close and whispering.

"It's about that time, yes. In a couple of days, James," Remus said softly back. They obviously did not want to be overheard talking about such a sensitive topic.

"It's been a while since our last evening adventure."

"Yeah, it has. I'd say about a month since I've stretched my legs," said Sirius, grinning.

"Peter, you in for a little bit of night time fun?" asked James.

"You bet, James," he replied.

"Alright, Remus, we're ready when you need us, but right now, I think I'm going to go find the flower missing from this room. She seems to have escaped my watch."

Sirius grinned wickedly, "Enjoy your gardening, James. Hopefully a gopher named Amos hasn't found her first."

"Night, boys," James said, ignoring the remarked flowing freely from Sirius' mouth. Where had Lily gotten to, he wondered.

A/N: I've been on a role this week. It seems my writer's block with this particular story has finally lifted. Chapter 12 will come soon. Please, please, please review! I really appreciate any and all feedback. I hope you are enjoying the story thus far!


	12. Surrendering to the Enemy

Chapter 12: Surrendering to the Enemy

Lily had in fact escaped the excited chaos of the common room. James had kissed her again. She touched her lips with her fingertips as she thought about it. There was something electrifying about having such intimate contact with him. Amos's face swam to the surface of her mind. The situation was so not good for her budding relationship with Amos. Then again, they never had defined it as a real boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Lily shook her head in disgust at herself, thinking that she was just trying to logic away the fact that she was semi-seeing someone while sporting the beginnings of feelings for another. But did she really want a relationship with James Potter? He was going to go do dangerous things and fight the dark arts after they finished school in a few months, but would he want a girlfriend while beginning that stage of his life? She was fairly sure she would not want to, but people say love conquers all. Lily blinked. Love. Could she ever love James on a level more than friendship? They based their interactions on repartee and friends, but did that have the makings of an actual, functioning relationship? Would Amos mind if she made him go back to just being a friend? Well, there was only one way to find out, and that was to go find Amos. It was the middle of the afternoon after a quidditch match that did not involve his house. Where should Amos be? If it were Lily, she would be in her common room like almost everyone else in the school. She headed in the direction of Ravenclaw's common room.

The castle of fairly quiet, only the creakings of the old building settling and the paintings taking an afternoon rest disturbing the peace of the corridors. Turning down a corridor that would take her past the library, Lily, not paying attention, ran smack into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm just not paying attention to where I'm going," Lily said, looking up to see whom she had knocked into the wall. "Oh, Amos, hi. Just the man I was looking for" Her quarry had come to her. This made the whole locating Amos project far easier.

"Hii, Lily. Congrats on the win," Amos said,

"Thanks, Amos, but I was actually looking for you," she replied. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Actually, Lily, I've been wanting to talk to you about something too. You want to go first?" asked Amos.

"Sure. Um, Amos, here's the thing. I think you're a great guy, and a wonderful friend, but I'm not sure I really could ever commit to being your girlfriend. I know we've been sort of, um, dating, but it just doesn't feel completely right to be anything other than friend with you. I do value your friendship, though." She watched for his reaction.

Amos began to laugh. "Lily, that's what I've been wanting to talk to you about. I met this girl, Natalie, and we just click. She's amazing. Not that you're amazing. I mean, you are, obviously, but I mean, she's just great. I mean, not that you're great, but she's, I mean….shit. Sorry, Lily."

"Amos, I know what you mean, and I'm glad you've found someone who fits you well. So you don't mind being just friends again?"

"Of course not. You're an amazing person, Lily, and I would rather have you as a wise and caring friend than not have you at all. I know what brought my desire to talk to you on, but who brought yours on, if I can ask? I'm curious as to who might have finally snagged the phenomenal Lily Evans. Is it Severus? You two seemed pretty close last time I saw you together, like blood buddies or something."

"Well, actually, it's not Severus. We're not really speaking anymore, actually, but that's a story for another time. It's James Potter, actually."

Amos' face broke out into a wide, genuine, grin. "That's great. For all the sparing we do, he's a decent sort. Nice guy. I approve, Lily, and you can tell him so, not that I think he'll care that I approve, but still. On principle I get to give my blessing if I want to."

Lily hugged him. "Thanks so much for understanding, Amos, really. But now I've got to go find someone and talk to them."

"Go get him, Lily."

"Thanks for the encouragement. You seem so eager to be rid of me."

"Oh, no, well, maybe a little bit eager. I was on my way to meet Natalie when you can into me." Amos blushed.

"Oh, well then for heaven's sakes, don't let me hold you up. It seems we both have places we'd rather be this afternoon, doesn't it?" said Lily.

"See you later, Lily," called Amos, passing around the corner they had collided over.

Great, the Amos problem solved, she no longer had an excuse to keep James at bay, but they again, she wasn't quite sure any longer that she wanted to fend of his advances. And if she did want to begin, say, encouraging him, where would she find him? Likely hood said he'd still be in the common room. _No, _Lily thought,_ I don't know if this is right. I need a sign. A sign would be great. I'm crazy asking for divine intervention here._ She found her way to her own door, not the common room, and opened the head boy and girl door. The large painting swung aside revealing their common room just in time to see James emerge from his bedroom, shirtless and still a bit dirty from the game, heading for the bathroom. The team had rushes to get out to their fans, forgoing actually showering. He really wasn't all that bad to look at in just his pants, bare feet padding across the rug-covered floor. His body was nicely sculpted from quidditch, his hair shifting into eyes as she stopped to look at her coming in through the door. Lily stopped just inside the door, locking eyes with him. She took a step towards him.

"Lily?" he asked. It was curious, simple.

"There's no time like the present," Lily mumbled to herself.

"What did you say?"

She covered the few feet between them. He looked at her as she stood inches from him, eyebrows slightly raised. Placing hands on his shoulders for balance, he always seemed taller when they tested the waters of intimacy, she lifted her face to his, one hand moving to his cheek, and kissed him. It took James a moment to register that she was kissing him willingly and freely. An interesting turn of events. James reacted, deepening the kiss, hands grabbing for her waist. She ran hands down his arms as he wrapped himself around her, pressing her into his body. Her fingers tangled in his hair, enjoying the feel of it in her hand. God, she felt good to touch after so many years of just looking. He made a sound in his throat, grinding hips into her body. They parted, breathing heavier, pulses raised.

"Woah," said James.

"Yeah," said Lily, flushing pink

"Woah."

"You already said that, James." She smiled.

"That was unexpected."

"Yeah."

"At a loss for words, I see." James gave her another peck on the lips. "You just kissed me. Not me kissing you. You kissed me. Have I finally melted your icy heart with my charming wit and masculine physique?" He ran tickling fingers down her arm.

Lily giggled. "I don't know, James, but I'll give you a chance. I suppose it couldn't kill me to maybe give you a shot." His hands squeezed her hips in response.

"I can deal with that, Miss Evans." She ran a hand down his chest, feeling the tightness of muscle under his skin. "But now, I'm fairly sure I might be repelling you with the way I smell, so if you don't mind, I will continue on my way to the hot shower that is calling my name."

He released her from his grip and turning to the bathroom door. "Hey, Lily?" he said.

"Yes?"

"Want to make our next trip to Hogsmeade more of a date and less of a brawl?"

"I think we can do that."

James closed the door behind him, smiling to himself as steam from the shower began to fill the room; he wanted to get cleaner before rummaging around in the night wit the Marauders. He felt pretty darn good for a guy who'd spent the entire morning freezing to his broom. He finally had a real date planned with Lily Evans. It only took him seven years of trying.

A/N: Please review. I hope you are still enjoying the story, but some feedback would help me decide which way I want to take it. Thank you, readers!


	13. Moonlight Swaree

Chapter 13: Moonlight Swaree

The Gryffindor common room was empty save for the dying fire except for the three boys: Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Moony had escaped earlier to his hideaway to release some of the full moon energy. There was an interesting thing they had learned about their friend Moony their first year; he happened to be a werewolf. Of course after he kept disappearing like clockwork a couple of days every month, the boys had gotten curious. So, late one night they all lay awake, waiting until Remus crept out of bed and followed him. Sirius and James confronted him, with Peter sitting near them, only wanting to be included. Remus' story spilled out from him, the relief at finally sharing what he was overwhelming him. It explained why a good chunk of the time, Remus looked ill and wan. The next step, as far as his friends were concerned, was to find way to keep him company when he went on his nighttime excursions to protect the rest of the students from his other side. It took a while to find the information they needed on becoming an Animagie, but they did, and in doing so, they made Remus' stints into forced solitude far more pleasant. Their mischievous sides came out more during these monthly excursions, going so far as to wander about the village. Even as animals, they were still teenage boys looking for adventure and a little trouble, enough to keep life interesting.

"Good evening, boys. How are we feeling tonight?" asked James, as Sirius, and Peter emerged from the stairs into the boys' dormitory.

"Beastly, James. I feel absolutely beastly," replied Sirius. "I must be having empathy pains for Remus."

"How apropos. Then I think perhaps we should all stretch our, ahem, legs a bit and get out of this drafty castle."

"Capital idea, James," said Peter. "Who's got the map?"

"Got it," said James, unrolling the map. "And the cloak, if we need it."

James unrolled the map, tapping it and saying their double, super secret magic words to make the map of Hogwarts they had created reveal itself. The castle looked quiet and empty, which was good for a swift escape out to the grounds. Throwing the cloak under an arm incase they would need it, James led the way out through the portrait hole. The only things that were about were the ghosts, it seemed. The castle was silent, and they had a surprisingly easy time of getting down to the bottom floor and out the door to the grounds. It was only a few feet more to the Whomping Willow. With a shudder, Peter changed into a rat and scuttled forward to tap the knot at the base of the tree and still its movements. In another swirl of motion, Sirius and James joined him in the tunnel in the forms of a stag and a large, black dog. It was just like Sirius to choose an animal for that was also a bad omen and herald of impending death.

The other side of the dark, earth tunnel was a dusty house that had become a teenage boy playground on the full moons. They had made enough noise to convince the villagers and students alike that the house was haunted. The headmaster had helped spread and support the rumor for the safety of Remus and other wizards. The boys were certain he knew they joined Remus during the full moon. Remus appreciated the company. His friends kept him and those around him safe, and made the times he had to change with the moon more bearable; sometimes it wasn't so bad to be a werewolf.

The large, black dog listened at one of the windows as a huge wolf clambered down the stairs, teeth bared. The stag bucked him back through the doorway with his antlers and into the hall, towards the staircase he had run down. A rat scrambled out of the way as the two much larger animals struggled with one another. The tip of one skeletal antler grazed the wolf's flesh, and he stepped back in surprise. A gleam of recognition came into his eyes, and the stag nodded his head as the wolf remembered himself and the creatures around him. Sometimes Remus had to be reminded who he was most of the time. The beast always took over at the start of the change and had to be reminded that the soft human was his usual appearance. Remus would never forgive himself if he gave in to the monster within, which was why he had the boys, in addition to just being his nighttime companions during the full moon. The motley collection of animals stepped back over to Sirius. The night outside in the village was quiet and still. It was obvious to the adopted pack that mischief had to be made.

James trotted up to the door in the front hall and gave it a shake, pulling it back as the Peter climbed up his foreleg and jumped onto the door handle, turning it with his weight. With the door open, the boys wandered freely out into the night. There were strange smells on the midnight air, subtle ones that would have been missed had they been in their regular skins. They headed down the short path to the sleeping village to investigate the scents. A shadow disappeared around the corner of a building far down the road from them. Peter scurried before them, off to investigate before his larger, less quiet friends could catch up. Of course, James and Sirius could have surpassed him in a speed contest, but they never left Remus unattended during the full moon. He could be unpredictable, and while they were mischief-makers, they did not want to endanger anyone they might happen upon in their excursions.

James hung back from the corner, hiding in a shadow, as the others stealthily rounded the corner after their shadow quarry. He was a bit more obvious than the others with his almost luminescent coat. Their one shadow apparition separated into two men, hidden beneath dark cloaks. Sirius found a convenient pile of boxes to hide behind at the backdoor of a shop just a few feet from the men they followed. Peter sat almost at their feet, head tilted and listening attentively.

"All is ready, then, I take it? He will be pleased with your work," said the first man, in a deep, gravely voice.

"Aye, all is ready. The timing is the most important thing, you know. It will be an excellent opportunity to clean the blood of the village. They will almost all certainly be in the village tomorrow. We can cleanse the area, as the Dark Lord wishes," answered the second.

"Good. Do not fail, or I guarantee you will feel his anger." The boys hugged their hiding places as the first man returned the way he had come and left the alley. From the little they could see by the moonlight, the second man stood shaking his head, face pale. He looked vaguely familiar, young, probably about their age. They could not make out the features of his face, but the voice they had definitely heard before. He turned and left the alley the opposite way from his cohort. Peter scurried up Sirius' leg, climbing onto his back and chattering in rat. Sirius let out of a soft bark to get Peter to quiet down. Remus' glowing, golden eyes watched the exchange with interest before trotting back around the corner to find James. The snow muffled all sounds they made, meaning they had been effectively eavesdropped unnoticed on a meeting that was definitely sinister in nature. Thinking it would be better to not run the risk of being seen that evening, the variety pack returned to the Shrieking Shack.

As the door closed and locked behind them, the boys looked pointedly at one another. James turned down the tunnel to the castle, Peter in quick pursuit. Someone had to warn the headmaster that something was awry in the village, but Remus still needed company. So, Sirius stayed behind, waiting for the return of the others. It was going to be a long night.

A/N:

It's a short chapter, I know, but I got caught up in writing the next one and just had to end it on a bit of a cliffhanger. I know, you are all waiting with baited breath for the next installment. I hope you are enjoying it, dear readers, and if you are, please drop me a quick review. They help so much. Thank you to those of you who have reviewed already. Your words are greatly appreciated.


	14. Chaos

Chapter 14: Chaos

The day of the last Hogsmeade visit before examinations dawned chilly and gray. Of course it was chilly and gray, it was the barest beginnings of winter. The possibility of snow hung in the air and clouds. Lily did not mind in the least. She loved the prospect of the first snow. It was one of her favorite things about December at Hogwarts, because a blank of soft, white cold would descend upon the castle, the grounds, and the village, making everything quiet, muffling sounds, and calming the surroundings. She loved the first snow. So it was with the flutter of excitement for the first snow and nerves for going out with James Potter to the village as possibly more than a friend that Lily entered the girls' dormitory hall in Gryffindor Tower through the other door in her bedroom wall.

She banged on the door to the seventh year girls' room hearing voices on the other side. She was ready to get down to the Great Hall and grab breakfast.

"Are you guys coming?" she asked, opening the door.

"Yes," replied Shannon from her desk chair, where she was watching Celia run around the room only half clothed. "We're just waiting for Miss 'just five more minutes' to finish getting ready."

"Morning, Lils. I hear you have a date with the infamous James Potter. It is about time, if I do say so myself," said Alice from her perch by the window, where she was watching the gray clouds with interest.

Lily colored. "Well, if you want to call it that. I wouldn't say it's a date exactly, but more of a friendly outing with less than the entire group of friends. I'm just going to try and get along with him. We are living together after all, so it just makes sense that we get along."

"Lily," began Alice, "you think what you like, but I see something other than friendship in your future."

"Oh, hush, Alice. Just because you and Frank are all about each other and being together forever, doesn't mean the rest of us are."

"Jealous, much, Lils?" asked Meredith, bounding into the room, face and hair clean and fresh.

"No, Meredith. I'm not jealous. I'm happy Alice has such a great guy like Frank to rely on, but that does not mean I will in any way feel deep, gushy feelings for James Potter." Lily curled a strand of her hair around her finger, a nervous gesture her friends recognized.

"Mhm, well, that's that then, isn't it?" said Celia, Celia, pulling on her left and final shoes. "Breakfast anyone?"

"Morning, Remus. Feeling better today?" asked a groggy voice from beneath a pile of blankets.

"Been better, James, but glad it is morning."

"Get up, you lot. Hogsmeade today. You don't want to stand up dear Lilykins, now do you James? She might hex you into next week if you did," said a disturbingly cheery Sirius, pulling open the curtains on the window nearest him.

"Correct, Sirius, but after last night, I'm not too sure I want her in the village at all. Seedy activity and all that. Not sure it's too safe for the love of my life."

"Eh, Headmaster said he'd be around with the other teachers down in the village with us to keep things all right. You relayed to us, James, that _the adults _have everything in hand and not to worry. Now, how much do we believe that, boys?"

"Not much," said Peter, head poking out from his bed.

"I'm not sure how much I believe them, either, James. We are capable of taking care of ourselves, but are the other students? And after all, how much can the teachers really do to protect everyone, if something does actually happen. It seems more surreal and like a dream the further we get from last night. I almost hoped I'd dreamed it," added Remus.

"Well, then we'll just bring a few extra precautions with us today, in the event that we would need them. Now, let's get moving so we can get breakfast before we venture out." James tossed off his blankets and began rummaging around for clothes. He so seldom slept in the boys' dormitory that his selections for clothing were limited. He left the others to get ready while he ran back to the Head's room to shower and dress properly, and pick up a few precautions from his trunk. It had seemed a good idea to stay with the others last night when Remus' beast had finally been satiated with enough moonlight. He also didn't want Lily to think he'd been romping about without purpose, which he had. Honestly, he couldn't let them run around with Remus on full moon alone.

It was empty when he clambered through the door, Lily having already departed for breakfast. It was for the best that she not have any suspicions about his extra belongings anyway for their day trip to the village. A fast shower, and changing from the clothes he kept stored in the boys' dorm into something more himself, and he was almost ready to join the others at breakfast. Into a pocket of his coat, he stuffed the invisibility cloak and his wand; it paid to take precautions. Slamming the door, he vaulted out of the portrait hole and ran down to the hall to join the others. There was absolutely no sense in keeping Lilly waiting. He paused at the busy entrance to the Great Hall, spotted Lily and the others and stood watching her for a moment as she pushed a loose strand of red hair behind her ear. Even eating she looked adorable. Feeling eyes on her, Lily looked up and waved him over to get him to hurry up and sit down. The air was laced with excitement. There was not an older student among them who did not relish the visits to Hogsmeade. It was a fast breakfast, seeing as the others were finished except for taking the last sips of tea from their cups.

"James, don't choke there, buddy," said Sirius, watching James shove an entire piece of buttered toast into his mouth. "We can wait a few more seconds to walk down if it will keep you from dying by toast."

James swallowed. "No need, Sirius, I'm good to go. Lily?" He turned to look at her a little ways down the table.

"Ready when you are, James." Her lips tipped up into a small smile.

"Alright then, let's go." James jumped up from the table as the others smiled at his enthusiasm. Grabbing her hand, he almost dragged Lily out the doors and onto the grounds.

"James, shouldn't we wait for the others?"

"They'll catch up. I'm honestly not worried about them at all. Besides, I never said this was a group date, did I, Lils?"

"Hm, I see. Well then, come on, won't you?" She took off down the road at a jog, looking over her shoulder, grinning through her hair. It took James a moment to get with the program, but soon he'd caught up with her. Weaving through students, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her forward motion, but the momentum toppled them both to the ground in a laughing heap.

"We're an absolute dirty mess already and it's just morning," she said, getting up.

"Yeah, well, you just have to go and make it a challenge, didn't you?"

"Well, obviously James. I'm nothing if not a challenge. Am I worth the effort do you think?" She raised challenging eyebrow.

Dusting his hands off on his trousers, he put them on her shoulders. "I've thought so for a long time, Lily."

"Hey, you two, leave room for God in that embrace." Leave it to Sirius to ruin what could have been a very romantic moment. The rest had caught up with the lovebirds.

"Took you guys long enough," said Lily, pulling away from James. "Let's go. We've got a whole beautiful, frosty day to play in."

Off the enlarged group went down the road, the roofs of the village building emerging over the hill as they walked. Students were already everywhere, going in and out of doors, bells clinging, people shouting, laughing, running around. It was a much-needed break for the students of Hogwarts. Their group rambled along loudly, getting on well, Sirius sticking interestingly close to Celia, still acting his jovial self, but more watchful and tense than usual. James noticed and looked over at Remus who jut shrugged his shoulders. There really was nothing to worry about; the headmaster had said so. In the village, the group split seven hundred different directions, trying to go do as much as possible in their day out. James pulled Lily off to the three broomsticks for a proper butterbeer and chat, sans fistfight this time.

Lily claimed a table near the window, watching James a he went to the bar and collected their drinks before returning to her. "Alright, Lily, tell me something deeply important that I need to know about you?" he said, taking the first delicious swig of drink.

She stared at him over the lip of the bottle as she slipped it from her mouth. "What?"

"Come on. What's something that is absolutely necessary for me to know about you?"

"Well, my parents and sister are muggles and we have no idea where I came from. My parents love me, but my sister, while I love her, is a devious, hurtful, jealous girl who can't stand me anymore even though we used to be the closest friends that we could be. How's that?"

"That will do nicely. You have a hateful sister? I'm an only child."

"I can tell."

"What? I think I should be insulted. What do you mean by that, Miss Evans?"

"You're an attention hog, James. It's a classic sign of an only child."

"Oh, is that all. I thought you were going to tell me something bad about myself." James smiled at her small giggle.

"Do you have any family among the disappearance?"

"That's kind of a dark turn to the conversation."

"Well, you said you wanted to chat. You didn't say anything specific, so if you want to get to know me, then I get to know you."

"Fair point. Yes, actually. I've got an aunt and uncle missing currently, my mum's side of the family. That's all, thankfully. They were ministry workers, don't really know what. My family tends not to talk about work when we're together. We talk about everything but work, except for my schoolwork of course."

"I'm sorry. How long have they been missing?"

"About a year now." James fiddled with the knots in the woods of the tabletop. "How about we find a more cheerful topic? This is our first 'date' after all."

"That sounds like a great idea, James. So, are you sure I'm not going to be stepping on any male love crush between you and Sirius? Is he going to go all scorned lover on me? Because I'm quite happy with how well he'd getting along with Celia right now."

"Nah, not a problem. Sirius has got my back, but we have never had any 'male love crush' between us. It is an interesting change in events between those two, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I think it's good for them, though. She's pretty down to earth, and I think she might be a good balance for Sirius' wildness." Lily slung back the last of her drink and set it on the table next to James' empty bottle.

"Shall we go wander about and perhaps visit the joke shop?"

"Okay, James, but I think that particular part of the day if all about you and you're trying to forget we're on a date."

"Oh, no, my dear Lily. It is simply me sharing some of my world with you." He held out a hand to her and they left, stupid grins spread wide over faces.

Outside it had begun to snow large, white flakes. Lily danced a circle, skirt twirling around her knees as she turned. James watched in amusement. "It's snowing, Potter!"

"I've noticed, Evans."

"Quit that."

"You started it."

"It's snowing. Shut up and enjoy it." Snowflakes were settling into her hair, looking like glistening diamonds as they melted to her strands. To James, she looked like an angel. "Stop staring and come dance with me."

"But there's no music, Lily. We'll look like we've got knocked in the head a few too many times."

"James Potter," she said, hands on hips, "since when have you ever been concerned with how you look to people? Now come here." She grabbed him, settling his hands in hers and beginning to twirl circles around him like he was a Maypole. She jumped away from him, clasped hands held high, and stuck out her tongue to catch snowflakes on.

"I thought you were always the composed one. Where did this silly side come from?"

"Oh, James, you've just never had the desire to meet it because you've always been such a pain in my side. Come on, show me your world."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Why? Is there a lot of seedy, dark stuff no one knows about?"

"I wouldn't say no one, but maybe."

"Well, then you'll just have to teach me all about yourself."

They took off down the street towards the shop, spying Sirius and Remus near the door to the store. The boys waved them over.

"It's snowing," proclaimed Lily.

"Yes, we had noticed," replied Remus.

"Not insinuating your brilliant mind had not, Remus, just releasing some excitement."

"Right, well seeing as you've gone a little nuts, why don't we go inside?" said Sirius.

"Brilliant idea, let's," said James, sweeping Lily in through the door before him.

Inside it was chaos. Bells rang, smoke rose, people called to each other. Lily laughed as something whizzed by her head, grabbing James' arm. He smiled down at her, enjoying the feeling of her warmth through his coat sleeve.

"Where's Peter?" asked James.

"Haven't see him since we split up. Probably skulking off somewhere," said Sirius. They didn't really pay much attention to Peter, but they couldn't exactly exclude him either, even if he wasn't as good as they were at much of anything.

As Lily wandered around and looked at the interesting objects of the shop, James purchased a few essentials to renew his stock back in the castle. One could never have too many fireworks or tricks up their sleeves. Lily appeared at his shoulder as he paid and collected his purchases.

"Could I talk you into walking up to the Shrieking Shack?"

James was automatically alert. "Why?"

"Because everyone says it's haunted and if there really are ghosts up there that are not Hogwarts Castle ghosts, I want to see them." She had a pleading look on.

"Alright, but just a quick look. Then how do you feel about tea or something? Maybe finding the others and getting into some mischief."

"Deal." Lily looked pleased.

James waved to the other boys who were still meandering around the shop, and the two of them walked back out into the snow, Lily pulling her scarf tighter around her neck.

Noticing this movement, James said, "I thought you loved the snow?"

"Oh, I do. I never said I liked the cold that comes with the snow, however."

"Picky, aren't we?"

"Oh hush, James. I'm sure you have things you aren't a huge fan of either." She pushed him playfully.

"Well, there's a few things."

"Like what?"

"Like burned toast. Love toast, not the charcoal version."

"That's not what I was expecting. Are you trying to tell me that the great James Potter isn't really bothered by anything?"

"Not at all. Just that you will have to find out on your own."

"I see. You want to be challenging, too, eh?"

"I think it's only fair."

"Well—" a loud explosion from behind them in the village cut off Lily's statement. They turned. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know. Stay here." James began to run back the way they had come, abandoning their adventure to the shack.

"I am not staying here, James," Lily called, running to catch up with him.

Up ahead there was another explosion. Smoke was rising above the rooftops. James stopped short at the edge of the road, wand out, looking at the students hurtling back towards the castle or at least cover. Meredith streaked past, heading for a shop door, tugging Shannon behind her. The professors had emerged from the crowd. Ushering students out of the way, and firing sparks from busy wands in different directions. Black robed, masked figures were lighting wreaking havoc on the town. Students and local alike jumped into the fray before being forced out of the way by duelers.

"Lily, sta—Lily?" James turned around to find her gone. He scanned the crowd and say red hair flying as she ducked a stream of light and shot her own back at her attacker. She was not alone in her endeavor, however. Alice was on the offensive, Frank a few feet from them exchanging fire with another Death Eater. He ran over, aiming as he went/ "Damn it, Lily, get to safety."

"Kind of busy here, James. Don't tell me to stop. I don't have enough focus to argue with you and –" she ducked, "keep people alive. Either help out or shut up." Her mouth was pressed into a grim line, focusing on her quarry.

Alice yelped as a light smacked into her shoulder, leaving behind a nasty looking burn mark, singed clothing stuck to it. "Frank, don't you dare stop what you're doing to worry about me," she yelled over her shoulder, knowing what he was doing behind her back as she inched closer, losing concentration for a second.

"Alice," yelled a professor, "get out of here. Now, and that's not a request. I've got your place." He stepped in, pushing her aside. Alice nodded and ran for a nearby door, students beckoning for her.

In her concentration, Lily didn't notice the Death Eater aiming for her. James tackled her to the ground, shooting a stunning spell over her body as he did, smacking the attacked in the face; a direct hit. "You are going to listen to me," he said to her through gritted teeth, shielding her with his body as he watched the battle. "Get out of here. I can't keep you safe if you're stubbornly putting yourself in danger. And I'm not getting off until you agree."

"Fine, just don't lose focus or we're both in trouble."

"I've got this covered. Take the cloak out of my pocket and get to Alice. Now go." He rolled off her, aiming as he went, the cloak pulled out by Lily with his body's movement. She pulled it on and rushed for the cover she'd seen Alice disappear into. Panting, she tugged it down and slammed into the door, dashing into the building. Celia knelt by Alice, delicately picking pieces of cloth out of the wound, trying not to hurt the girl.

"Lily, thank God you're alright. Where is everyone?" said Celia, staring at her friend.

"I don't know, but we've got to get back up to the castle. It's the only securely safe place there is, and Alice needs medical attention."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Lily. I'll be fine. Celia won't let me see out the window, is Frank still okay?"

"He's fine as far as I know. I don't think we're going anywhere quickly, though."

"Right," said the charms professor, edging his way in through the door, wand pointed out. "I'm getting you lot safely back up to the castle so we don't have to worry about you. All older student get your wands out and use what knowledge you have from your classes to help each other. I can't look everywhere at once, but I'm going to do my best to get everyone home. Now, come on and stay behind me. No stragglers. Move quickly and quietly."

Obligingly, the student huddled together, Alice behind Lily, but wand held around her friend as an extra help to their defense. Lily and Celia stood on either side of the charms professor, fourth year students crammed in behind them, not having much knowledge in the way of field work with the dark arts as of yet. A jet of light flew over the group, badly aimed, and Celia shot back in the general direction of cloaked figures. The professor did some fancy wand work and the masked being went sprawling. Lily noticed a small student running towards them and pulled the girl into the group behind her. The headmaster was doing a fair job knocking most of the ones behind the fires out of the way and the battle. A fireball shot past the students caught a tree on fire. Students screamed, moving out of the way. Their group made it to the flow of student moving towards the castle from the danger of the village.

"Lily, Celia, get them all back up to the castle. I'm going back to help. Move, quickly." The charms professor ran back into the battle.

"Well, you heard him, move it," shouted Lily over the noise at the wide-eyed students in her care. Celia took the lead, Lily following at the rear, ready. She heard a yell and searched the faces until she saw James, clutching a hand to side where a spell had cut a bloody path through his left side. Red drops were peppering the snow around his feet as he circled, still moving to protect those he could. "Alice, take over. I've got to help James."

"Lily," Alice screamed after her as she took her place, shoving the students up the road with her back, wand out, ignoring her burn. "Get back here."

Lily, of course, ignored her. She shot a stunning spell at James's attacker as she run, scoring a victory for her team. "James Potter," she yelled, catching him as she fell to kneel in the sparse, new snow. "You get your ass back up to that castle before you do something else stupid." She grabbed him, eyes watching for any more danger.

"Evans, I sent you for safety. Why aren't you listening to me?"

"Because you're being stupid. Now, hold onto me and let's go. I'm getting you out of here. You're bleeding all over everything. Frank," she yelled, noticing Frank was listening as he joined to stand over them, "can you give me a hand?"

"Would love to, Lily. I've got to go after Alice. She's hurt, and she needs me."

"Don't get distracted, Frank. She'll be fine as soon as she gets up to the castle. Can you help me with James? He's losing blood fast." James was slumped against her, breathing slightly heavy.

Frank grabbed one arm and Lily the other, a nearby professor covering them as they went for the road. James left a red streak down behind him as the stumbled along. Ducking spells, they managed the cover of the trees. Most students had already made it up, and they were fairly alone. Both stayed on the alert. The shadows seemed to hold more than they were in their depths, and Lily jumped at the smallest movement.

"James, stay with us." James muttered something, slipping from her grip to the ground, out cold. "We've got to get him up to the castle, now."

"Here," Frank mumbled a hovering spell to help them with the weight. "that should make it easier for us both. A flourish of movement to their left had Frank raising spells and shouting to Lily to get James and go. She didn't think twice, grabbing her much lighter load and streaking towards the castle as fast as her feet could carry them.

At some point, she went numb, knowing that Frank had caught up with them at some point, noticing the blood trickling down his face from a cut above his eye, but she didn't feel anything about it. At the doors to the castle, James was taken from her and rushed away. Someone was telling her to have a cup of tea and calm down. Everything was going to be fine. But it wasn't. She was positive James was breathing too shallowly when she saw him last to be fine. She slid against the banister, noticing the comforting, frantic hands of Shannon on her arms, and cried.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter to follow swiftly! Please Review!! Thank you!


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